The figure emerges early in the morning, when the slides of a survey by the research institute EMG roll on Agorà, a talk on Rai3. In particular, data on leaders’ trust. Where, on May 29, the participation achieved by the leader of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi, was 31%, stable compared to the previous week. Same data as Elly Schlein. The founder of the blue party, however, far surpasses Carlo Calenda, arrested at 21, and even more Matteo Renzi, who is at 18%. It is a number that raises certain considerations, some of context, others of political message. Berlusconi, in fact, has just returned from a long hospital stay, which kept public opinion in suspense for days, and is now convalescing in Arcore. He too conducted the electoral campaign for the municipal elections, yes, but obviously in a limited way due to the precautions imposed by the circumstances. Thus, a short video of a few minutes in view of the first round, with an invitation to go and vote. And a series of interviews with some newspapers as the vote approaches. A much smaller activism compared to the secretary of the PD, who in her leadership role is a widely visible protagonist of the political picture. But also Renzi and Calenda. Which in recent weeks have conquered the scene more for the disputes than for the proposal, but which, in any case, remain very present in the public and television debate.
Once again, therefore, Berlusconi inverts the dynamics of politics, the one that today sees visibility, social, television and territorial activism as a requirement for existence on the scene. Berlusconi, on the other hand, inevitably engages in less flashy but very substantial activism. And this is witnessed by what is filtered not only by his statements, but also by those behind the scenes who want him committed, in close contact with his party leaders, in drawing up a plan to reorganize the party to consolidate its roots in the territory, and in a preliminary activity to identify candidates with a view to the European elections. A crossing point where Forza Italia could play an important pivotal role in the perspective of an alliance with the European families of conservatives and reformists in order to be able to create a Commission without the socialists. In this sense, the affirmation of the Azzurri’s identity (another fundamental component of the party’s strengthening activity) as a popular, liberal force, compatible with but distinct from the other coalition forces, is part of this framework.
Meanwhile, Berlusconi is building on victories in Ancona and Brindisi, where the centre-right triumphed at the polls by fielding two Azzurri candidates for mayor. And perhaps it is no coincidence that yesterday, after the federal council of the League in which the desire arose to look at the creation of a “European centre-right”, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini went to Arcore to meet with Berlusconi . A meeting that League sources define as “long and cordial”. Salvini, after the interview, declared: “I found my friend Silvio in great shape, working on many dossiers, smiling and determined”. And again from the Via Bellerio party filters that the two leaders took stock of the first six months of government and, in fact, made a preliminary reasoning about the future in view of the European elections. It is no mystery that, over the years, Berlusconi has repeatedly expressed to Salvini the hope of a rapprochement with the Ppe. Now the question is clearly on the table. And the leader of Forza Italia, even in this phase of rewriting the political dynamics of the community, remains central.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
