Here is the stuff that divides Renzi and Calenda: the rift between Action and Italia Viva is a question of money
Not only times and ways of the new party. What really divides Action by Carlo Calenda and Italia Viva by Matteo Renzi…
Money, as we know, risks ruining even the most successful marriages. Imagine what they can get up to when the relationship has never been idyllic, like the one between Carlo Calenda and Matteo Renzi , two actors too cumbersome to share the same stage and who in fact have a long history of quarrels, for and behind the cameras, since times of forced coexistence in the same government.
The latest disagreements seemed at least to have political origins and not linked to personal grievances, with that sad 2.7% gathered in Friuli, where the doors of the Regional Council closed in the face of the two and the sudden escape in the editorial staff of Renzi's Reformist , which had elicited a cold comment from Calenda: «It has nothing to do with the Third Pole».
THE NEW FRONT BETWEEN RENTI AND CALENDA
Instead, an ANSA news agency that crashed in yesterday at lunchtime suddenly added the monetary issue to the story. "The only decisive problem today for the construction of the single party of the liberal democrats is that Renzi does not want to make the commitment to dissolve Italia Viva and to finance the new subject and the electoral campaigns", the words of an anonymous leader of the party of Calenda who defined the ex premier's tactics that lasted for months as "unacceptable". To conclude with an ultimatum addressed to the Tuscan ally: «The patience of the management team of Azione has run out. During the week we will understand if this knot can be resolved. If this is not the case, the single party cannot be born".
THE POWER OF MONEY
Is it possible that on the road that leads to the Third Pole, to those "prairies" of voters who do not find representation in the extremisms of Giorgia Meloni on the one hand and Elly Schlein on the other, an issue as venial as the 2 per thousand, i.e. say the voluntary funding mechanism for parties through tax returns?
Will money abort Renzi and Calenda's project? And is Renzi really so attentive to vile money? Just him, who from the documents filed in the Senate, relating to the 2021 fiscal year, is one of the richest elected officials with a taxable income of 2.56 million euros; Calenda, on the other hand, with its 63,990, doesn't even try to compete (we should add the income from the European Parliament received until October 2022 which is not subject to taxation in Italy)?
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
Going through the MEF data on the distribution of the revenue deriving from the two per thousand of the taxpayers' Irpef, we see that last year from the 2 per thousand Action had 882 thousand euros and Italia Viva 807 thousand.
If Renzi and Calenda really arrive at the October congress, with the single party the fund will also be shared and the 2 per thousand will be donated to the single party.
RENZI'S MOVES "TO CONTROL THE MONEY"
«Matteo Renzi – underlines the source to Ansa in the dialogue that sparks the new crisis among the housemates – has surprisingly replaced Rosato at the helm of the party, to directly control its money and structure. In this way he also delegitimized the political committee of the Third Pole federation where today there is no IV representative capable of making commitments. Calenda deems this attitude unacceptable as it is contrary to the commitments made with the voters".
WHO PAYS FOR THE EUROPEAN RACE?
Action parties point out that public funds will arrive only in December 2024, but a crucial appointment will be held before the summer: that of the European elections, so pending the new check, with what money will the electoral campaign be run? For this reason, writes Il Sole 24 ore , Calenda has proposed to Renzi to pool 70% of the funds that will arrive in December 2023, without obtaining commitments.
MONEY SPENT ON “THE FACE OF CALENDA”
There are many disagreements between the two parties. Francesco Bonifazi hisses : «It should be remembered that Italia Viva contributed equally to Action to all the electoral campaigns of the Third Pole. The choice of how to allocate the money was taken by Senator Calenda who opted in the vast majority of cases for billboards bearing his face and name. Italia Viva has currently contributed over one million and 200 thousand euros. As for the future 2 per thousand, it will obviously go to the structure legitimized by the Democratic Congress".
WILL THE GROUPS PUSH RENTI AND CALENDA TO REAPPACIFICATION?
The Confindustria newspaper emphasizes another public funding, the one reserved for groups: around 50,000 euros per MP per year (9 in the Senate and 21 in the Chamber). Reason why both leaders, after meeting with their representatives, finally seem willing to reconcile.
The leader of Italia Viva Matteo Renzi in his speech at the meeting with the party's councilors and parliamentarians in the Senate, in fact rejected all accusations: «Someone says that the break that is feared by Azione arises from money needs, someone says for needs related to A reformist, some say it is linked to the dissolution of the party of origin: these are alibis and false motivations," he continued.
DISSOLUTION EX ANTE OR EX POST?
However, underlining a point of friction: «The dissolution of Italia Viva? It is clear that if we form a single party, Italia Viva dissolves, just as Action dissolves. But early dissolution has never been seen in history. It goes against the laws of physics: first you create a single party which can only be a party founded on a democratic path from below" "To all of you I say – he concluded – it is crazy to screw up now. We will not screw up the project to create a single party now ». So can Calenda stay calm?
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ecco-la-roba-che-divide-renzi-e-calenda-questione-di-soldi-la-frattura-fra-azione-e-italia-viva/ on Wed, 12 Apr 2023 09:04:28 +0000.