What are the primaries for, if there is not even a coalition?
To "who" and "what" are the primaries needed? I am aware that I am asking a provocative question, even if I believe that many other external observers like myself, not directly involved in politics and without party cards in their pockets, share the same perplexities. One can immediately answer that in the United States, to cite the most emblematic case, the primary is normal practice. Although it is worth noting that they do not always help in choosing the best candidate. Political ability and intelligence are indeed very different virtues from the ability to speak or from simple telegenia.
And then it is not certain that what is good for the Americans must necessarily be good for us too. Italy is a country different from the US in many respects, including its political tradition. Looking at the past television shows of the many – too many – candidates to lead the various Italian coalitions, I had the impression that the debate has not at all clarified which was the most suitable for directing a certain political formation in the future, moreover composite.
The show has only remarked – where there was still a need – the many souls that are part of it, some of which even appear irreconcilable with each other. Now the idea of the primary is making its way again thanks to the usual generosity of Daniele Capezzone who, after the setback suffered by the so-called center-right in the very recent presidential election, is trying to give the aforementioned center-right some advice to become a true political coalition able, when necessary, to beat opponents.
We immediately note that, even in this case, it is not necessary to be a fortune-teller to predict that there will be many candidates for leadership, a faithful mirror of the various souls of the coalition. And I don't think hearing so many conflicting voices will help potential voters clear their minds. It almost seems that the aforementioned candidates do not understand the need for a synthesis capable of convincing the voters, and especially those who are uncertain in principle.
Because that's the point. Listening to the squabbles among the center-right candidates, the already great confusion has increased. It is really not clear why some of them want to show up under the same roof (or umbrella, if you prefer). The same happens for the opposite field, where the debate continues to highlight the basic difference between the Democratic Party – already in itself anything but granite – and the grillini, whose implosion cannot be excluded at all.
I add a couple of considerations which, at least to me, seem essential. The first is that the primaries cost a lot, and a lot. In the US, private individuals intervene massively, much less in our country. There is the risk of yet another – and just – controversy about the use that parties make of public money.
The second consideration, perhaps even more important, concerns the risk of saturating ordinary citizens with politics (often as an avant-garde), who already can't take it anymore. An anti-politics, perhaps different from that proposed by Beppe Grillo, could ultimately draw further advantages from the presence of gazebos with the symbols of parties that have never been so unpopular.
So I return to my initial question: who and what are the primaries for? Wouldn't it be better to show the so-called man in the street a certain seriousness, by presenting plausible and well-structured common programs, capable of attracting a more stable consensus than what can be obtained with televised debates between candidates all in conflict with each other? Mine is, perhaps, a naive question, but as a professional "non-politician" I have the right to ask it. And like me many – indeed many – others.
The post What are the primaries for, if there is not even a coalition? appeared first on Atlantico Quotidiano .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL https://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/a-cosa-servono-le-primarie-se-non-ce-nemmeno-la-coalizione/ on Wed, 09 Feb 2022 03:50:00 +0000.