Christian Democracy, Bisignani’s bomb on the crazy Boschi-Carfagna idea –

Louis Bisignani

September 01, 2024

Dear Director, the search for the lost center is tinged with pink. Surprisingly, in fact, two women you don’t expect emerge in the imaginary reconstruction of a modern Christian Democracy 4.0: Mara Carfagna and Maria Elena Boschi. The former ministers, although with different paths, root their political line in the deep roots of Italian Catholicism. And the ferments of their respective parties, after Renzi’s raids, could be the prelude to a unitary “crusade” turning point. In the meantime, after many failed attempts, the plan for a new DC 4.0 is making headway also with the support of what remains of the Vatican and the CEI, to which is added that of Manfred Weber – leader of the EPP on an anti-Salvini mission in Rome – and of numerous groups of Catholic associations and volunteers. Incredibly, it seems that even Giorgia Meloni, certainly busy with other matters, does not oppose the project, as it is seen above all in an anti-Lega and Forza Italia key. But where does the search for female figures capable of reviving the “white whale” come from, until now at the center of many legal disputes on the symbol, now experienced as a nuisance by all those who, over the years, have believed in the values ​​of Don Sturzo and De Gasperi? Boschi and Carfagna do not expose themselves, but they know they are at the center of confidential surveys. The first, always a point of reference for the network of associations “Ditelo sui tetti”, a think tank close to leading figures such as the Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and the powerful Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council Alfredo Mantovano. Similarly, Carfagna, super Atlantic, is in the front row at numerous meetings in the Vatican, where she stands out for her attention to social issues and human rights.

Some Catholic intellectuals, together with emissaries of the Secretariat of State, are discussing, in great secrecy, in an apartment on Via della Conciliazione, some programmatic points that could become a political path articulated along the following guidelines: 1) electoral law: proportional system with preferences (with the exception of the leader) and with a majority bonus for any coalition that reaches 45/47% of the votes. The President of the Republic elected by Parliament is a fixed point. 2) Foreign policy: Euro-Atlanticism. 3) Economy: a new social market economy within the country and concerted multilateralism on international markets. Technology, innovation, competition, based on the centrality of the human person, whose dignity and rights must be respected and promoted. 4) Industrial policy: resuming domestic steel production, creating a metalworking hub with Finmeccanica as a holding and including Leonardo, Fincantieri, Ansaldo, Ilva. 5) Energy policy: renationalize Enel – as the French did with EdF – and merge Snam and Terna into a single energy network company, possibly adding the telecommunications network. 6) Policies for the South: creation of a European Fund for the South, providing the possibility for European entrepreneurs to invest in the South. 7) Social-health and education policy: more funding for schools and a return to schools for job placement. 8) Ecological policies inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato si'”. 9) Innovation and digital education to prepare new generations for the AI ​​technological revolution, and platforms for active citizen participation. Finally, ethical issues will have a large space as is right in a socio-cultural context that has so far only created polarizations.

A solid and realistic project whose initial step could be the creation, in the near future, of an autonomous parliamentary group, a hypothesis perhaps also appreciated by the president of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana, another convinced Catholic, which would see the reunification of UDC and SVP which could surprisingly be joined by some parliamentarians in strong contrast with their current groups. Among these, Andrea De Bertoldi from Trentino, a liberal Catholic, recently expelled from Fratelli d’Italia – a hasty decision that would cause some embarrassment to Meloni – and other excellent exits. It is said that De Bertoldi is the parliamentarian closest to the governor of the Bank of Italy, Flavio Panetta, father and brother DC doc, and one of the “reserves of the Republic” who certainly did not appreciate the ‘castor oil’ used on his friend. Others who could wink at the new centrist group are personalities like Ettore Rosato, from Trieste, balanced between the PD and Renzi and always on excellent terms with Parolin himself, as well as the Piedmontese mountaineer Enrico Borghi. Not to mention the prairies of the Christian Democrats who are intolerant of Elly Schlein’s PD. Two names for everyone: Lorenzo Guerini and Salvatore Margiotta. Then there is the evergreen Pierferdinando Casini, waiting, in the pits, to get back on track for the “world championship” at the Quirinale. He too could support a new center that would help him in the climb to the Colle, as well as Maurizio Lupi, who made his debut as a municipal councilor of the crossed shield in 1993, ready to include his Moderates on the condition of a serious project for a DC 4.0.

Any future program will also depend on the agreement, which now seems imminent, to close the long-standing issue of the symbol. A diaspora that began in 1994 by Ciriaco De Mita and Giuseppe Pizza, claiming continuity with the old party after the dissolution of the Christian Democrats, and Renato Grassi, up to Gianni Fontana, an authoritative former Christian Democrat minister. The disputes in the Courts of the Peninsula are inevitable, from Rome to Naples, from Milan to Caltanissetta. In these days two important law firms, one from Palermo and the other from Rome, are concluding an agreement to allow the symbol historically most voted by Italians to return to the race and open a new political season. In fact, the three main protagonists of this feud Lorenzo Cesa, Gianfranco Rotondi and Salvatore Cuffaro, with the mediation of Saverio Romano, have decided, with a sense of responsibility and a good dose of humility, to put an end to the dispute and prepare, for the beginning of the year, a large assembly under the iconic shield-crossed image. Enthusiasm also in civil society, starting with Fabrizio Palenzona, a strongman of Catholic finance, Antonello Giacomelli, Agcom commissioner, and women like Lorenza Lei, former DG Rai, and Simona Signoracci, on the board of Terna. A gathering made up of movements, associations and organizations that actively operate in society, from Communion and Liberation to the Focolare Movement, from the Community of Sant’Egidio to Catholic Action. All entities orphaned by the DC and today politically in disarray that need a common home in which to confront each other. On the sidelines of the meeting, a large exhibition with historic posters of the crossed shield, a symbol created in 1943 by Giovanni Battista Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI, and Guido Gonella, one of the founders of the party. It is the last chance for a rebirth that has so far only been announced. Whether a woman will lead it is yet to be seen. The only certainty is that by returning to serious politics, to De Gasperi’s ‘doing’, with a real party, with strong traditions, with strong representation in the territory and in Parliament, the center can bring back to the polls that tide of voters who, fed up with the cult of personality of the leaders (Berlusconi aside), desert the vote, despite being in fact the majority. It could be the right time to return to taking up the shield.