I’ll explain the real anomaly of Giuseppe Conte
The tensions of the government majority – triggered not only by Renzi but also by the Democratic Party – do not concern only the Recovery Plan or the delegation to the Secret Services held by Conte. To think there is a political question linked to the new role of Conte. Here is which one in Gianfranco Polillo's analysis
There is one aspect (one of many) of this crisis that, at least so far, has not received the attention it deserves. The question concerns Giuseppe Conte himself. What is your role in this story? Is it just the pro-tempore prime minister attached, like an oyster, to the chair of Palazzo Chigi or something else? Of course, the first hypothesis would already be more than plausible. The triple somersault of a provincial lawyer who climbs all the ladders of Olympus in a flash and becomes prime minister of his country is not something that happens every day. Then we understand the determination to stay, doing every possible somersault.
It must also be said that Giuseppe Conte had never hidden that vocation of his. Think back to the history of that curriculum, heralded as if you were participating in a public competition. What need was there to indicate things that could then easily be denied ? None. But it did. And if the lie was without consequences, this was due only to the difficulty of a negotiation that involved two political forces (the 5 stars and the League) who had very little in common. And that they could only be together after the signing of a real "contract". Of which the " people's advocate " became the guarantor. Other than Article 95 of the Constitution.
The first phase of the metamorphosis coincided with the change of majority: via the League, inside the Democratic Party, Leu and Italia Viva. The reins of the Executive always in the hands of the old premier. With the addition, since then, of a bit more power: the delegation of the secret services, which remained in the hands of the tenant of Palazzo Chigi. Easy to explain why. Matteo Salvini had had the Interior Ministry and therefore the control of the State Police, Elisabetta Trenta had gone to Defense, of the Grillino rite, but only up to a certain point, with the Carabinieri weapon as a dowry; while the Guardia di Finanza was the prerogative of Giovanni Tria, the alien who lived in the rooms of Via XX Settembre. It was therefore difficult to further unbalance the balance of power, attributing the delegation to the secret services to others.
A logic that, in Count two, was less justified. It is true that now Lorenzo Guerini and Roberto Gualtieri are in defense and economy: both Pd. While in the Interior Luciana Lamorgese: daughter of prefects and herself prefect of the Republic. But withholding the delegation of services on oneself had two drawbacks. It showed that the Prime Minister was increasingly a political exponent of the 5 stars, in balancing power with the other forces of the majority. It represented a significant change from the past. Since the passing of the law that had reorganized the matter (Law 124/2007), all the presidents of the Council in office – from Silvio Berlusconi to Matteo Renzi, passing through Mario Monti – had delegated such a delicate and equally burdensome task to others.
And in fact, with the new yellow-red majority, Giuseppe Conte ceases to be the simple mediator between his two powerful deputies (Salvini and Di Maio) to increasingly assume the air of a decision-making President. As will be evident from the progressive prevalence of administrative activity, oriented by Palazzo Chigi, over the legislative one. Think not only of the slew of the Dpcm, or the drafting of the various drafts of the Recovery Plan. Not to mention the last icing on the cake. The Parliament that is expropriated of its constitutional right: what is the examination and approval of the budget law. With the Senate, forced to vote, the provision dismissed by the Chamber is closed, in order to avoid the bogeyman of the provisional exercise. An event destined to highlight the changes that have taken place over time.
We must start from here, to understand Matteo Renzi's reactions. Perhaps the first to grasp the meaning of those transformations: from a simple lawyer, who miraculously reached politics in one of the highest chairs it can offer, Giuseppe Conte had become the true leader of the 5 stars. And as such it could and should have been challenged, neither more nor less as in the past – think of the relationship between De Mita and Craxi – it took place in the First Republic. The characteristics of which, with the return to proportionality, seem to increasingly condition the future political structures of the country.
And here is the answer to the original question. The facts show that that metamorphosis is now complete. We don't have a butterfly, but a character who has filled the void left by Beppe Grillo and Davide Casaleggio. It is Conte, the party leader, who deals with the other leaders of the coalition. It is certainly not Vito Crimi: more of an administrator than a leader, but not even Luigi Di Maio. The most unlikely foreign minister of the Italian Republic seems to have no say in this crisis. At the most, it can try to stigmatize the behavior of others. Appeal to a sense of responsibility. Cling to the words of the President of the Republic: that Mattarella who only a few months ago wanted to report for an attack on the Constitution. But nothing more.
It is the blackest crisis, but also the point of arrival in the sign of the total normalization of a movement that seems to have long since exhausted all "driving force". From this point of view, the polls are an uncomfortable testimony. It remains only to understand what Nicola Zingaretti wants to do. Can the main party of the majority coalition remain speechless, leaving the full weight of the challenge in the hands of Matteo Renzi? There might as well be if Italy lived a condition of normality. But faced with a crisis that is far worse than that of 2007, it would take more. At the very least, an assumption of responsibility in plotting a course, which at least attempts to avoid the final disaster.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/vi-spiego-la-vera-anomalia-di-giuseppe-conte/ on Mon, 04 Jan 2021 13:54:45 +0000.