UTOPIA WEEKLY REPORT February 21, 2020

Renzi-Conte, between clashes and truces

If ever there was a need, the four “fundamen- the Lower House his group voted then times tal” points set out by Matteo Renzi in view of with the opposition against the government his face to face with Premier Giuseppe Conte on the ‘Milleproroghe’ omnibus decree. It is make it clear that the clash started on the re- against this background that Renzi and Conte form of the statute of limitations has become have agreed to meet next week, formally to an all-out quarrel between Renzi’s Italia Viva try to get out of a now permanent row that (IV) and its ruling coalition partners. The blocks the executive’s activity and with it also proposals put forward by the former mayor of the country. Much more realistically, how- Florence have all the earmarks to shatter the ever, the two will measure their real power re- current parliamentary majority and it is pre- lationship, among threats of departure from cisely for this trivial reason that they are born the ruling coalition or calls to gather centrist as a worthless piece of paper. Having them MPs to shore up the Conte II cabinet in Par- summoned, however, represents yet another liament. Not to mention the delicate match of gauntlet launched at the allies’ address, as public appointments, where the allies have well as the existence of a real counterprogram already stumbled upon a stalemate on the never agreed before which opposes the Conte RAI public broadcaster waiting to address agenda to relaunch Italy. For Renzi, in fact, it sensitive issues such as the leadership of would be necessary to work on the “just jus- Enel, Eni, Terna, Poste and Leonardo. The tice” reform, to wipe out the contested Bo- fact is that the story of the tough political op- nafede reform; on a 120 billion shock plan on position between Renzi and Conte certainly infrastructure, to overcome the legacy of the does not arise in these weeks. The aversion “building sites unblock decree” of the previ- originates when the two were officially rivals, ous M5s-League government; on the removal one in the role of the head of the M5S-League of the citizenship basic income, the contro- government and the other as a PD senator. versial M5S flagship measure to fight pov- Conte was already Renzi’s favorite target a erty; and finally on the institutional reform to year ago, and things did not change even after elect directly the head of government, a sug- the birth of the new M5S-PD executive – gestion that Prime Minister Conte himself which was enabled by a shrewd tactical ma- has already banded as “impromptu”. So don’t neuver in Parliament conceived by Renzi be surprised by the new wave of controversies himself. And in view of next week’s meeting, that has caught the government and its fol- it is easy to associate Renzi’s current request lowers this week, even more so in light of the for a truce with that “Enrico, take it easy” behavior kept by IV in Parliament to mark the motto that anticipated the defenestration of political distance between itself and the rest then-PD Prime Minister Enrico Letta in 2014. of the ruling coalition. Proof of this was Even at that time Renzi accused the head of Renzi’s absence in the confidence vote on the government of immobility: a coincidence that wiretapping reform in the Senate, while in for now leaves all assumptions open. ______Analysis & Strategies Office Tel. 06.97790308 E-mail: [email protected] www.utopialab.it