The programme and the primaries: the thorns in the side of the broad coalition this August
Leaving aside the unresolved conundrum, there are certainly more players on the pitch at the moment than there are time limits and rules of the game
Key points
The dilemma over the programme and the primaries – which is causing headaches for the broad coalition and fuelling the debate – remains unresolved. There has been less back-and-forth – partly due to the mid-August break – but a few suggestions have been put forward and some steps have been taken to move the process forward.
This is the case with Riccardo Magi: the secretary of +Europa is ready to stand in the primaries. However, this decision has not gone down well with some of ‘his’ supporters (the very same people who, months ago, had called for an early party conference to challenge the secretary’s leadership), thereby reopening the already deep rifts within his party.
On the other hand, there is the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, who, in an interview with *Il Mattino*, has put forward the Neapolitan ‘broad coalition’ model as a national example. An approach based on tackling concrete problems – as the mayor emphasised – open discussion and, ultimately, consensus. The result: “a very cohesive broad coalition”, said the mayor proudly, as he sets his sights on a second term in the Campania capital, thereby ruling out a future “elsewhere” – such as a role as coalition leader, which had been mooted some time ago.
Manfredi has made his position clear on the rules of the contest: no veto on the primaries, but policy must come first. This is therefore in line with the mantra of PD Secretary Elly Schlein, reiterated following the Five Star Movement’s pro-primaries and anti-Kiev outbursts, when she admonished M5S leader Giuseppe Conte: ‘First, the programme agreed upon by the entire alliance, and then the primaries’. For the Democratic Party leader, the logic is that whoever wins at the polling stations must then lead the whole team, not just their own party. Similarly, for Manfredi, “we must start with the political proposal,” he suggested. “Then, if we could reach a consensus through a shared agreement, that would be the best outcome. “However, we must not be afraid of primaries; they are an expression of the will of the people.” She then listed the key points of a common platform: wages (“they are low and represent a genuine emergency”), healthcare, housing and inequality.
Magi: ‘I’d run with great enthusiasm’
Leaving aside the unresolved conundrum, there are certainly more players in the running at the moment than there are time limits and rules of the game. The latest to join the list of potential candidates is Magi, who came forward in an interview with *La Stampa* published on 15 August: ‘I would stand with great enthusiasm,’ he announced. But he has also laid down two red lines that he considers non-negotiable – and on which he seems to be challenging most others: the idea of Europe and the stance on the war in Ukraine. “Our future lies in the European Union,” he stated, explaining that Europe is the last bastion against the nationalism of the Meloni government and the European right. And he added the thorny issue of Ukraine, which is driving a wedge between him and Conte’s movement. Magi has declared himself ready to stand in the primaries on behalf of Più Europa.
