The challenge of the primaries is already starting to take shape. Contending for the leadership of the center-left will be Elly Schlein and Giuseppe Conte. The secretary of the Democratic Party had given her availability for some time. The president of the M5s revealed it the day after the victory of the Nos in the referendum on justice.
In addition to them, there are Ernesto Maria Ruffini, leader of the olive-inspired movement “Più uno”, and a yet to be identified exponent of the civic project led by the Rome councilor Alessandro Onorato.
Meanwhile they. For some names that are gradually being added to the list, others are slipping away. The first is the mayor of Genoa Silvia Salis who, in recent times, had often been brought up as a possible competitor.
And then there is the “no thanks” from Action: “It’s not our playing field – said deputy secretary Ettore Rosato – Just as the centre-right structures don’t concern us”. There are no other fixed points. Also because Conte’s green light for the primaries, which arrived during the hours of celebrations for the outcome of the referendum, took many allies by surprise. And it also created discontent. Because the objective was to cultivate enthusiasm for the victory for as long as possible, as a natural starting point for the electoral campaign for the 2027 elections. While the launch of the primaries – this is the reasoning – risks immediately shifting attention to the internal dispute within the centre-left.
Because the stakes are high: the choice of who will challenge Giorgia Meloni for the conquest of Palazzo Chigi. “We are still understanding and deepening the dimensions and facets of the splendid victory in the referendum – said Paolo Ciani, elected with the Democratic Party and deputy group leader in the Chamber – and there are already those who are throwing themselves into the game of the presumed primaries”.
A mood that also lies behind the cold welcome from the other allies. “When the referendum is won in such a sensational way, with a historic mobilization – said Angelo Bonelli of Avs – the expectation is not on the primaries, but on how we change Italy. First of all we must say what the perspective is, not who the leader is”.
And in fact even the secretary of Più Europa, Riccardo Magi, immediately asked for the table to be opened for the program: “The primaries are an instrument that must reach the end”. Be that as it may, the most widespread prediction sets the date of the consultation in the autumn: the M5s will close the phase of listening to supporters in August. Immediately afterwards, discussions on the program with the other forces will have to be opened. And then there will be the primaries.
The other issue is the voting method. We are moving towards primaries that are also open to non-party members: Conte explicitly asked for them and Schlein became secretary thanks to that type of consultation (Stefano Bonaccini had won in the circles alone). It is likely that we will also talk about voting online. Again: the M5s has it in its DNA and it was also expected when Schlein conquered the Nazarene. Meanwhile, the debate is on the method.
The primaries are “a mistake – said Salis – we should have an internal discussion and find a leader capable of leading the progressive camp”. And then, tersely: “I am the mayor of Genoa and I don’t want to participate.” In recent days, the mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, also pulled out. Magi, however, urges caution: “We await the evolution of the new electoral law”. Because the primaries will be practically necessary only if it passes.
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