«Salvini amazed me. Do you want elections with us or return with the M5S? »- Corriere.it

What did Salvini say or do wrong?
“It seems a bit anomalous to me that – the same day that the leaders of the center-right sit at a table to coordinate positions – without notifying us, the first openings are made to a government in which the hypothesis of signing a new one is taken into consideration. Pact with Pd or M5S with the aim of killing Conte to sign a new pact between Pd and M5S, and at the same time an interview with Conte himself is announced ».

How do you explain it?
“I don’t know, but for the coalition it was a step backwards. Precisely when the center-right shows compactness over the Month, overcomes internal divisions, presents itself compact to obtain listeners and results on its proposals in the fight against Coronavirus, because it opens itself to a solitary interview with Conte, playing the game of the majority , which has the sole intention of dividing us? They have been trying for months and so far we have never fallen into the trap.

Salvini, however, argues that, with the pandemic, voting is impossible now and perhaps seeks a new centrality for the center-right.
But it is not impossible to vote. This has always been the thesis of the left, which is terrified of losing. But it is an instrumental thesis that we have never confirmed. It is impossible to continue with a divided government and everything and fighting for seats while the country risks the closure of companies in a few months, millions of unemployed citizens, all in the middle of a pandemic.

But do you really believe in voting?
“I think it would be much better to vote and then have a cohesive government with a specific project than to remain in this situation. We are the only country in the world that considers it a tragedy to vote, as if there is a power vacuum in Palazzo Chigi between a government that resigns and a new one. Excuse me, but was Covid not in the US? I think they voted anyway.

Is it possible that Salvini wants to position himself as the leader of the entire coalition mediating between the intransigent position of FdI and the super-dialogue position of Berlusconi?
“I don’t think so because, if that were the case, it would be a really exasperated tactic. Leadership is not tactics, but political vision, coherence, clarity, not fluctuating positions. What led FdI to grow, like the League itself when it interpreted a decisive line, and Matteo knows it well. By dividing no one is strengthened, neither the coalition nor the leader of the largest party in the coalition.

Does Salvini take the initiative to broaden the center-right to include the little ones, and the hypothesis that from now on it will be decided “by the majority” at least it would be appreciated?
“It is certainly a positive development, but I repeat, I did not like that some of them, even after the agreement, did not vote our joint motion on the ESM. The table is a good thing, but you have to show that you do want to be together. Then about the majority vote, I don’t know what is meant, but it is clear that not all have the same weight … ».

Some observers think that Salvini has chosen the new line to return to the dominant leader in the coalition and leave it on the sidelines.
“Look, I know that every time I make a political initiative or a statement that does not exactly coincide with Matteo’s, they tell me that it is” a battle for leadership “: from the accusation of those who want to spice us up it makes you smile, no On the other hand, I am interested in understanding if Salvini really considers it possible in this legislature to return with the Five Stars or establish a government with the Democratic Party or if, like me, he only has one possible horizon: to go to the vote with the center right This is the only thing that matters and I count on that we will sweep away misunderstandings. “