Massimo L. Salvadori: Letter to Matteo Renzi

Massimo L. Salvadori
Ed. Donzelli
pp. 128

"From Florence, home of beauty, we put ourselves on the line. We want to respond to cynicism with civism. To division with a vision. The controversy with politics ... because the next stop is really Italy". This is how Matteo Renzi introduced himself to the Italians in the Leopolda railway station of Florence in November 2010. He, the wrecker. From mayor of Florence to the youngest head of government in the history of united Italy. The essay is dedicated to him, to his political ascent, to his experience of government, to his gifts and weaknesses.Letter to Matteo Renzi”By Massimo Salvadori, emeritus professor at the University of Turin.

An interesting essay to read whatever the political ideas. In it Salvadori reconstructs the premises of the scenario on which the experience of Renzismo was grafted, and it retraces the political stages, up to the mother of all the reforms: the revision of the constitutional system, approved by the Parliament, but rejected by the referendum of the 4 December 2016.

But who is Matteo Renzi? What are the chances that he is still the protagonist of Italian politics? Salvadori answers these questions with a lucid and severe analysis, acknowledging to Renzi that he is a fighter, a courageous but impetuous leader; that goes for the brisk when it would be necessary to proceed with greater prudence, tact and sensitivity; lacking the experience of those who preceded him and that typical ruse of some politicians; too convinced of his ideas to make an optimistic future vision appear as true political propaganda. Propaganda that led him to clash with the discontent of the population and the bitter defeat of the referendum.

Was it really Renzi who lost the referendum or rather Italy? Salvadori writes: "He lost, but before he lost the country. They lost the Italians who voted 4 December NO, who, not very sensitive or indifferent to the specific contents of the reform, have thus intended to express the weight of their social malaise on which their political opponents have leveraged".

The essay was written before the primaries. Exactly one month after Renzi's victory over Emiliano and Orlando, it is legitimate to ask whether the momentary exit from the political scene meant anything. Surely as Salvadori announces, the game is still open and a lot will depend on how the former prime minister chooses to stay on the pitch, as the author mentions: “...the qualities of a leader are not just the will and determination. The qualities of attention, the prudent evaluation of the steps to be taken, the ability to listen, before choosing and making their own decisions, also count.". I wonder if the lesson will be served ?!

Anita Fiaschetti