Forza Italia is vital, growing in research and membership. This is the message coming from the Taormina convention, a two-day event that ended yesterday. The event was inaugurated shortly after the publication of the results of the membership campaign, with those 100 thousand members that just yesterday the undersecretary and deputy Tullio Ferrante, responsible for the sector, defined as “an extraordinary result”. Therefore, there is the impetus to design the future, in the wake of that “Berlusconi liberal recipe” that spokesman Raffaele Nevi insisted on during the convention. Closing the event, national secretary Antonio Tajani, vice-president of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed it as follows: «I am convinced that Forza Italia will exceed 10% in the European elections, we are working towards that.
The congress season starts next Saturday and then we arrive at the national congress that will take place in Rome on the 23rd and 24th of February to elect the new secretary of the political movement and which will effectively launch our electoral campaign”.
The perspective of the two figures, therefore, of growing even further on the political path. For this event, explains Tajani, “we will aim for 20% throughout Italy”. Even the Italian number one focuses on members: «The one hundred thousand members are something that was unthinkable for me after the death of President Berlusconi. Instead, it is reality and it is an extraordinary result. I am not Berlusconi’s heir, but I am ready to coordinate these hundreds of thousands of people. We don’t govern and we don’t win if we don’t work as a team and if we don’t all act together. I’m confident because I see an enthusiasm in the country that I haven’t seen since the last election victory in which Berlusconi later became prime minister.”
Then there is the central issue, which is the identity of the party, demonstrated by the symbol. Tajani guarantees that there is no change. «The name Berlusconi does not dominate in a nostalgic party, but rather in a party that looks to the future, with its ideas that have a great place in politics and in today’s country. They thought that Forza Italia would disappear, but they were wrong and the polls confirm this extremely clearly. Our challenge starts here and we will overcome it with the strength of the ideas and identity we have, which today is stronger than ever.” The electorate and the reference issues are also very clear: «We continue to fight for families and the issue of taxes, for companies, for workers, for the weakest, for artisans, for freelancers and for small and medium-sized companies».
Then there is another aspect, which concerns the return of the attractiveness of the blue movement. Regarding this, the National Secretary insists on the line already expressed when he took office: «If anyone wants to get involved with us, they are welcome. We are neither a taxi nor an hourly hotel. Whoever wants to come, come and build our house with us, which must be the house of the Italians.” Therefore, «to say a great Sicilian singer and composer who no longer exists, Battiato, the permanent center of gravity is that center that is not influenced by the opinions of others and that is what we want to be: the permanent center of gravity of Italian politics” .
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.
