Italy: Parties promise implementation of ‘Draghi agenda’ in search of votes

In seven weeks, Italians will be called to vote on the renewal of parliament. And in these first, warm days of August, the various parties are trying to use the means offered by new technologies to convince as many voters as possible. Due to this unusual choice – to set up the polls immediately after the end of the summer -, most political forces have chosen to put more emphasis on political messages via the Internet, as well as interviews on television channels and in the written press. The era of large political gatherings, in Italy as well, has definitively passed.

In the meantime, one can already discern a new clear trend: for almost all the centrist forces, the “agenda Draghi”, i.e. the main points of reference and action of the government of the Italian technocrat prime minister, are an essential core. These are mainly detailed reports on the energy sector, on justice reform, on the need for greater transparency in public procurement and on strengthening competitiveness.

The centre-left of the Democratic Party sees the continuation of the technocrat prime minister’s reforms as essential so that Italy can receive all the National Recovery and Resilience Plan money. This is a total of 220 billion euros. And Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio (who left the Five Stars and is now moving in the area of ​​the moderate center) suggested that “a letter be sent from all parties to Brussels with a request to approve the ceiling on the price of energy, just as the Draghi”. One should not forget that the government of the former president of the European Central Bank had set the goal of making Moscow completely independent of natural gas by the end of 2023 at the latest.

Carlo Calenda, also former development minister and current head of the Azione (Action) party, has made it clear that those who want to go along with him should know that the content of the Draghi agenda cannot be called into question under any circumstances.

This tendency is observed, to a small extent, even in Italy’s Adelphi: far-right Giorgia Meloni, in her constant attempt to reassure the markets and the European Union, stressed that “her party, in terms of foreign policy , “always shared the choices of the Draghi government and never questioned the unlimited support of the Ukrainian people”.

In his last interview before the holidays, and the head of the government of Rome, answering a related question, wanted to refer to his agenda. “We could say that its main element is the ability to deal directly with the various problems, from the pandemic to the financial crisis. And to ensure internal and international credibility at the same time,” he explained to journalists.

After so many references to the method of the Italian economist and technocrat prime minister, the various parties will of course have to work hard enough to succeed in forming a “purely political government”. Unless in the end the president of the Republic Sergio Mattarella surprises everyone and chooses a “new Mario Draghi” for the prime ministership.

For now, however, the latest polls (Supermedia Αgi/Youtrend) give a clear lead to the center-right and the extreme right. In total, Merlusconi’s Forza Italia, Salvini’s League and Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy secure 46.4% of the vote intention. The center-left alliance “convinces” 33.6% of Italians.

As far as the various parties are concerned, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy remain in first place, with 23.4% of the vote intention, and in second place, with a small difference, is the center-left “Democratic Party” with 22.8%.

The League does not exceed 13.4%, while in fourth place are the Five Stars, with 10.4%. Forza Italia secures the preference of 8% of respondents and the newly formed, centrist party Azione (Action) 5%.

However, according to the experienced pollster Alessandra Ghisleri, of the polling company Euromedia Research, everything will be decided after the return of the Italians from the holidays. So far, 40% of voters have not decided whether or what they will vote for. According to Ghisleri, 20% could eventually choose abstinence. But the remaining, decisive 20%, with a “last minute decision” is expected to give victory to one of the two major factions and their allies.

Finally, some general commitments, which do not need much explanation and detailed analysis, can play a major role in this whole process. The center-right is already sending the message that, if it wins, taxes will be cut immediately, while the center-left Democratic Party insists on the need to quickly approve, in Italy, the minimum wage.

Source: AMPE