By Alberto Basile
In the last few days there have been increasing rumors of a merger between the Lega Salvini and Forza Italia. Initially it would be about the formation of individual parliamentary groups, but the possibility of founding a real party, the Lega Italia, with Salvini as secretary and Berlusconi as president, is looming on the horizon. Until a few weeks ago it might seem like a political fantasy, but the project of a “Lega Italia” was recently discussed in a dossier of the “Nazione Futura” and is now one of the main topics in all national newspapers.
The idea of the individual factions was first launched by Matteo Salvini; the project seems to be in Giorgetti’s hands and Berlusconi seems willing to accept the proposal, although there is no shortage of votes to the contrary in Forza Italia. Salvini could elegantly distance himself from Giorgia Meloni, the doors of the European People’s Party would be wide open to him and he would establish himself as the leader of the center-right. Berlusconi would emerge from the dead end of Forza Italia, which is losing pieces and votes on all sides, and could bring Salvini as a dowry an electoral consensus in southern Italy, for which the Lega is fighting. Of course there are pitfalls, as the PdL affair (Il Popolo della Libertà) shows, but I believe that this challenge, if gradually, handled intelligently and realistically, could prove to be very interesting. Forza Italia and the Lega of today have a lot more to do with each other than Fini and Berlusconi at the time of the PdL.
Personally, I would welcome this evolution in the center-right political framework. In this way a large and modern conservative party would emerge, from the liberal right, patriotic but not nationalistic, promoter of a “strong but not busy” state, European but not dogmatically pro-European. It could also contain smaller acronyms, such as the new party of Toti and Brugnaro or the formation of Maurizio Lupi. The “Lega Italia” would certainly have plural souls and currents in it, and if it knew how to manage the dialectic, it would benefit the center-right and the whole country.
In this context I found the considerations of Alessandro Campi in “Il Giornale” and Giovanni Toti in “Repubblica” interesting. The former hopes for a “conservative mass party, something that has never happened in Italy and that would be disruptive in our political landscape. It should be the party of tradition, the social market economy, religious values, certainties and social stability. A force that represents the submerged law of which Longanesi spoke ”. For his part, Giovanni Toti is more cautious, but he is ready to support “a space in which all center-right cultures, regardless of the numbers, have a political home”, ie “a large conservative party in which different souls can be united”.
I agree with both analyzes. Italy finally deserves a big center-right like the Spanish PP or the British Conservatives. I know it has no role models in our history, but there are times when you can completely reshuffle the cards on the table. Of course, my wish is only a wish that is far from being fulfilled, but we are beginning to see ways that lead to the goal.
Of course, as with any complex project, it all depends on who and how this design is to be implemented. Can we dream of a new generation of 20 to 30 year olds who were born and raised politically in the new political unity and are destined to represent the ruling class of tomorrow and act as a bulwark against political correctness and left ideology?
Source: UME