Virginia’s sunset: from the Movement’s “alpha female” to a figure in the background
Credits in the Capitol where the mayor Virginia Raggi is preparing to leave the sash to his successor (almost certainly a man). The renomination, which initially seemed to have warmed the hearts of many, struggling to take off, in summer a bit difficult for the pasionaria grillina.
Two months ago, when the only feared antagonist candidacy was that of Carlo Calenda, the Rays race for reconfirmation seemed destined to have a certain following in any case. Many thought that the outgoing mayor would have easily reached the ballot and that, if fate had assisted him, he could have benefited from the second round of the votes of the Democratic Party, in a hypothetical challenge with the center-right or even with the leader of Action .
But the primary of the center-left (decided practically at the table) and the descent into the field of the Michetti-Matone couple for the center-right spoiled the party at the Rays.
The polls, gradually, seem to get more bitter every day and from the first place of the past, the candidate grillina has slipped first to second place, then to third, even coming to fight for the bronze medal (and therefore the exclusion from the ballot ) with Calenda himself. To alarm the grillini also the findings about the hypothetical ballots: according to many institutions, if he managed to get second in the first round he would be defeated in any case and by all the candidates.
Basically, the Raggi could have had some hope by running practically without opponents. But as soon as the sides have devised the strategies and pulled out their horses, things have radically changed. Undoubtedly, the administrative disasters of these five years, the crazy carousel of the councilors, the sheer appreciation and the continuous foolishness collected up to a few days ago ( "from here you can see the dome of the Colosseum" ) weigh on .
The internal disputes within the Movement were also damaging to the race for reconfirmation. The main sponsors of the Raggi are practically evanescent: on the one hand Luigi Di Maio, increasingly distant from active politics, is enjoying the comfortable armchair of the Farnesina; on the other, Alessandro Di Battista, now out of the 5 stars and critical of the governist turn of his former comrades. In the middle, an increasingly busy Giuseppe Conte, who never showed great support for the outgoing mayor and limited himself to a few statements in the press. The Pd candidate Roberto Gualtieri, the one who in all likelihood will blow the second square from the Rays and leave it out of the ballot, was still the leading minister of the yellow-red government (and that's what to say!) And trigger a war against the center-left would mean giving the mortal blow to the shaky alliance.
Finally, the last trouble for Virginia would concern the lists. The presence of a "Civic Rays" is almost certain (to objectively fill it it would only be enough to mobilize the avalanche of councilors changed in these five years), while paradoxically it is yet to be understood whether there will be the symbol of the Movement. According to what was recently reported by Roma Today , the internal judicial clash at the Grillini top risks blocking the presentation of official marks, not only in the capital but throughout Italy. A factor of no small importance for the Roman elections, in which even half a percentage point can make a difference.
In short, the situation for the Rays is becoming more and more demanding and the times in which his tricolor band gassed millions of activists throughout Italy seem far away. However, some mischievous people claim that Virginia is doing all this, with the awareness of having no chance. Her protagonism in recent years and her electoral "sacrifice" could give her the national limelight and a leading role in the 5 Star Movement (or what remains of it), in spite of the stop to the double mandate and to the "one is one" . Again, Orwell thanks.
The post Virginia's sunset: from “alpha female” of the Movement to figure in the background appeared first on Atlantico Quotidiano .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL http://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/il-tramonto-di-virginia-da-femmina-alpha-del-movimento-a-figura-sullo-sfondo/ on Fri, 09 Jul 2021 03:50:00 +0000.