Inside and outside the 5 Star Movement, positioning and coalitions are still discussed. This time the debate is sparked by Chiara Appendino, who in an interview with Done she says she is against any structural alliance with the Democratic Party and denies support for Andrea Orlando in Liguria. For Appendino, the former minister of the Democratic Party would represent a profile that is not very “innovative”, this would be the reason for the lack of victory. It is above all this second statement that gives rise to the controversy: the Dems point out that Orlando’s choice was shared by both the 5S leaders and the local bodies. But it is clear that this type of utterance contributes to disrupting the coalition’s games. A position to which the former mayor of Turin is not new given that she also sided against the centre-left alliance in the last regional elections in her native Piedmont.
FOR LOVERS of formulas: we are beyond the Bettini scheme, which envisages an M5S to preside over the left side of the coalition, and also beyond the model imagined by some on the left of the Democratic Party, with Conte contributing to increasing the specific weight of social issues together with Adv. The one designed by Appendino resembles the Travaglio model which largely coincides with the ideas, more linked to communicative effectiveness than to political positioning, of Rocco Casalino: the M5S must move autonomously from each coalition and if anything at a later stage follow the model of the government contracts that gave rise to the two Conte governments of the last legislature.
MANY AMONG THEM The 5 Star elected officials themselves, however, interpret Appendino’s stance more in terms of internal debate and median positioning in the clash between Grillo and the former prime minister than as an announcement of a new phase in relations within the alliance. Also because, someone points out also to reduce the level of controversy, the position of choosing case by case and on the basis of the contents is already the current line of conduct of the 5 Star Movement.
THIS DOES NOT REMOVE that Appendino’s exit risks undermining the credibility of the alliance which on 17 and 18 November will challenge the right in Emilia Romagna and above all in Umbria, where the challenge of the civic Stefania Proietti to the Northern League member and outgoing president Donatella Tesei seems to be destined to resolve into a head-to-head match. And where it has already been decided, precisely to emphasize the figure of women outside of Proietti’s parties, not to celebrate the final rally with all the national leaders together on stage (an event instead planned for the right-wing candidate). Even if already tomorrow in Terni, a city considered decisive for the outcome of the Umbrian vote, Proietti will be in the square with Elly Schlein, with the president of the Sardinia Region Alessandra Todde and with the Avs deputy Betta Piccolotti. «We are changing our skin – states Todde regarding the phase in the M5S – It is normal that when you face a congress or a constituent process, before making hypotheses about structural alliances you also think about what type of identity you want to give yourself». And Marco Sarracino, deputy and member of the dem secretariat: «Orlando’s generosity and availability do not deserve to be liquidated in an internal debate within the M5S which we respect and which we are not entering into – he states – Now we must concentrate on Umbria and Emilia Romagna and on the regions that vote next year where, we remind the Honorable Appendino, the dialogue for a winning alliance is at an advanced stage”.
BUT, EXACTLYin the M5S someone looks more at the constituent assembly than at the administrative challenges. The event at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome, we learned yesterday, will end with the event that the leaders have decided to call Nova with the astrological term to represent the futuristic imagery of the new course. On Friday 8 November the «Guideline document» will be released with the decisions of the 330 people drawn for the deliberative comparison on which the members will express their opinions. Perhaps clearer indications regarding the politics of alliances will emerge from the outcome of this comparison.
