“A long, positive and fruitful meeting that confirms our common commitment. We will work well together." This is the joint statement published on Twitter by Prime Minister Enrico Letta and Matteo Renzi, newly elected secretary of the Democratic Party, who met yesterday at Palazzo Chigi.
The most urgent and delicate issue that the new leader of the majority party must address is undoubtedly the reform of the electoral law. According to what has been learned, Renzi intends to discuss it with all the parties, to ensure that it is the political forces that put forward a concrete proposal capable of garnering the broadest possible consensus. The hypothesis of a bill by the government is therefore out of the question, a last resort that Letta does not seem at all sorry to set aside. Renzi wanted guarantees on bipolarity, he made it clear to the Premier that the three million in the primaries voted for a majority-based electoral law and that, if there are no signs of openness on this point, the Democratic Party would continue along its line, seeing who is.
Yesterday the Democratic secretary also presented his team: “In the autonomy of my role, I asked 12 people to give me a hand in the secretariat – he said -. Five men and seven women. Based on the well-known principle that equal opportunities are not good, we need one more”. The average age is 36 years. Here are the names: Luca Lotti will be responsible for the organization, Filippo Taddei for the economy, Stefano Bonaccini for local authorities, Francesco Nicodemo for communication, Davide Faraone for welfare and school, Maria Elena Boschi for reforms, Marianna Madia for work, Federica Mogherini to Europe, Debora Serracchiani to infrastructure, Chiara Braga to the environment, Alessia Morani to justice, Pina Picierno to legality and the South and Lorenzo Guerini spokesperson.
“There is no tug-of-war with the party's parliamentary groups – concluded Renzi -. Two million nine hundred thousand people expressed themselves. I take it for granted that they want a reduction in the number of parliamentarians and the overcoming of perfect bicameralism, spending savings of one billion. Not doing so would contradict the choices that come from the base. This is why I'm not worried about tensions coming from parliamentary groups". As for the possibility of depriving the executive of trust, "the issue is not on the agenda".
In exchange for a clear agreement until 2015, Letta is ready to put on the table a program of reforms that links the modification of the electoral law in a bipolar sense to some targeted corrections of the Constitution, as also indicated by Giorgio Napolitano: reduction of parliamentarians and the Senate federal. Moreover, among Letta's men there is the belief that Renzi does not have many alternatives: "A pact with Berlusconi and Grillo cannot be ruled out, he cannot afford it".
On the other hand, sources close to Letta explain, “it is clear that Matteo needs to bring home some results immediately, he cannot afford to take 25% in the European Championships, his first performance as secretary. We will make sure to give him the trophy of the electoral law before the vote for the European Parliament, a great driving force in the electoral campaign". Above all, an excellent assurance on the fact that a scenario of broad agreements for life is not drawn up at the table. The agreed path then provides for Letta to present his program on Wednesday for trust and that, on that basis, work will start and go to an "audit" in January. In fact, the "German pact" anticipated by Renzi last week.
