Right moves and inevitable troubles of Meloni and Schlein

Two pieces of news confirm the tendency of Italian politics to have more problems and to devote more resources to controlling allies than to opposing adversaries. Two good pieces of news, but with this warning in advance. The first concerns Rai oversight. Roberto Giachetti of Italia Viva went on a hunger strike and chained himself in the Chamber, thus unlocking the deadlock of the Rai Oversight Committee, caused by divisions over the appointment of the president. The majority decided to guarantee the quorum and resume work, there was also contact between the deputy and the Prime Minister. So, the meeting is set for May 27, good.

For the race for Director-General of the FAO, Italy nominates Maurizio Martina against the Spaniard Luis Planas, with Minister Lollobrigida asking the EU for a unified endorsement. Although he is a former secretary and minister of the PD, he was considered valid regardless, excellent. Elly Schlein and Giorgia Meloni immediately reached an agreement and even the left-wing MEPs welcomed the candidacy as “splendid”, while on the right there were understandable doubts and frictions but these were overcome. The real obstacle on the left is Pedro Sánchez’s opposition.

Behind the two good pieces of news lie bipartisan troubles. That the majority quarrels over appointments is not good, it applies to Rai as well as to Consob, where Undersecretary Freni loudly withdrew the candidacy due to Forza Italia’s veto. In other cases, appointments highlighted issues of propriety, see Giuseppina Di Foggia who seemed to want to go to Eni while also pocketing the severance from Terna: she denied it and Meloni thanked her, but the statements seemed like a patch on a huge hole. In yet other cases, appointments highlight problems of the appointee’s capability, but this is a different matter.

In the center-left, instead, Elly Schlein met with U.S. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders at the Book Fair to discuss the future of the international left, continuing the international accreditation campaign which, however, with Obama and Lula, includes Sánchez, who is as ambiguous as Macron and Starmer. The quality of current European leadership is truly mediocre and it is no surprise that European conservatives consider Meloni the only model.

Meloni and Schlein then share a similar problem of coexistence and collaboration called elections and aim for a goal in a few months. In the center-right it seems to also concern the date, with the two competing options of spring and the legislative deadline in November; in the broad camp the problem is leadership and the duel with Conte, who certainly will not stand by. As instead do the aspiring third parties who hope to take advantage: Vannacci, Calenda, Renzi and perhaps a part of Forza Italia that keeps the option of switching sides open. The more the Blues deny it, the more commentators credit it. Here indeed a bipartisan understanding and a cross-party agreement would be needed, on the best system to guarantee a stable government with next year’s vote. But little hope is placed on it.