“This marriage is not to take place, neither tomorrow, nor at any other time”. The quote from Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed can be used to depict a new chapter of the Italian (political) literature. The union at EU level between the two parties co-ruling the Republic was ruled out, as The League advanced an official proposal to the Five Stars Movement (M5S) to form political group together in the next European Parliament, and the Movement replied with an equal official refusal.
The president of the Budget committee of the House of the representatives, Claudio Borghi, launched last week (19 February) the idea of a parliamentarian block led by the Italian delegations. According to the projections collected and elaborated by the European Parliament, the two Italian parties together are expected to elected nearly 50 MEPs (27 The League, 22 the Movement).
An eventual cooperation in the next European Parliament could result in an Italy-guided political group with the potential of being one of the major realities within the EU body. At least seven different nationalities have to be represented in each group: as seen the Italians would be 49-50, but counting the other members from the other countries there is the possibility to have a group bigger in number even than ALDE (the European Liberals).
Target of The League: radical change
“At the next European elections we will be the first political party, ahead the CDU” of the German chancellor Angela Merkel, Borghi stressed. In his views, “the entry of M5S in a strong euro-critic group led by The League has the potential of changing all the balances”.
The political reading offered by the politician from The League is not wrong. In case the different eurosceptic and euro-critic parties should join forces, the European Union we know it could really change. The problem is the Five Stars don’t feel comfortable with their home allies.
No second to anyone
The Five Stars refused the proposal. The official reason is that “we are euro-propositive and not eurosceptic”, the Movement pointed out. ‘Euro-propositive’ is an expression whose meaning is ‘pro-European’, somehow.
#Europee e rapporto con la #Lega. Facciamo un po' di ordine. Ecco la mia intervista all' @HuffPostItalia
— Sergio Battelli 🇮🇹🇪🇺 (@BattelliSergio) February 20, 2019
➡️ https://t.co/nBHdBrbKgz pic.twitter.com/Jj6bqiY3wC
“We are focused on our political project for an EU closer to citizens”, the vice president of the European Parliament, Fabio Massimo Castaldo explained. “We want a better quality of life for European citizens, and it can happen only in a Europe with a true solidarity. The project of sovereignists is based on other assumptions”.
Translated, this mean: never with Matteo & Co. This is not a position not new for the Movement, whose politicians already excluded alliances with Salvini’s friends.
Despite the explanations given, the real question is the leadership. M5S doesn’t want to play the role of the underdog. In other words, the Movement doesn’t want to be led once again by The League.
Already now in Italy it is more and more evident to everybody that M5S is losing support, while the other ruling party, on the contrary, is making gains in popularity. Salvini and his men are attracting to their side voters who earlier used to like Luigi di Maio and the Movement. A new alliance M5S-The League at European level would mean reproducing an excruciating relationship.
No means no. Does it in politics? Five Stars in trouble
The Movement is keen to search for its own way toward the creation of a political group in the next European Parliament. But the truth is the Five Stars are in trouble. While The League is expected to be in the position of having a parliamentary body, M5S on the contrary risks not being able to form one. Borghi’s proposal could result providential to help the Movement. The latter is open to dialogue, but nothing more.
“We are ready to talk to them as well as all the others on the single dossier, but in terms of alliances we go ahead with no hesitation along our project”, Castaldo stressed. “We must therefore reject the hypotheses proposed by Claudio Borghi”.
So, no means no. Is that true for politics, too? Niccolò Machiavelli wrote once: “Politics is the art of the possible”. It means in politics ‘yes’ can be translated in ‘no, thanks’, But it can mean also the opposite, that is ‘never’ could result in ‘yes, thank a lot’. Let’s wait and see…
