Secret meeting between the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement: still no agreement, and the direction is postponed.

Florence, July 26, 2025 – "Because there was something between those two, something that really had to be a secret, or something like that ." Perhaps Emiliano Fossi, Marco Furfaro, and Igor Taruffi read Alessandro Baricco's "Castelli di rabbia" at lightning speed, when news of the Democratic Party-Five Star Movement summit on Via Forlanini leaked. Because the plans of the Democratic Party's regional secretariat were dashed when the Five Star Movement made the meeting public in the late afternoon. Tuscan MP Andrea Quartini and regional coordinator Irene Galletti reiterated to the three Schleinians "with determination and clarity" their programmatic line , developed after 10 years of "constructive" opposition to the Democratic Party and the Rossi II and Giani I administrations. They set two sine qua nons for a broader perspective: a minimum wage and a regional citizen's income. Two programmatic cornerstones deemed by Conte's supporters "essential for the future of Tuscany." Also to remind "those who try to take them over, like the Italian Left, that these have always been our battles", mutters the 5S base.

So at the Novoligrad meeting, there were only a couple of issues, no more. No names, no consensus on Eugenio Giani . Beppe Conte was simply pondering what to do, annoyed by the judicial upheavals that have rocked the Democratic Party in Prato, Milan, and the Marche region (where Conte himself has made a move on the Ricci case), which do not sit well with the virtues of the Five Star Movement's political ethics. From Via Forlanini, they let it be known that the Tuscan Democratic Party was "satisfied with the positive meeting" with the Five Star Movement, which was crucial to reaching an agreement ahead of the October regional elections.

Translated from political jargon: the gap between the two parties is and remains marked, the M5S must make a broad play for itself, relying on programmatic guarantees in line with renewal, but until the white smoke arrives, the Tuscan PD can do nothing but delay the direction in which the green light for the Giani II government appears on the agenda.

The Nazarene's diktat, steering Fossi's regional secretariat from above, is this: first, an agreement (whatever the cost) between the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement, then the truth-finding process, and then the submission of the chosen gubernatorial candidate to the coalition. Otherwise, the rise to Florence of the Democratic Party's national organization chief, Igor Taruffi, is inexplicable.

And for this reason the dance of dates has begun for a direction first set for the evening of the 29th, then postponed "by a couple of days", until day X was identified: August 4th . Sinistra Italiana will not sit on its hands, on the 30th it is ready to hold its direction, more 'soft' now on the green light for Giani, since that of the Democrats is temporally first.

But the harsh truth is that, in any case, the Democratic Party's meeting already has all the makings of a "night of the long knives" between Schlein supporters and reformists, due to the (backlogged) amount of meat on the fire, in addition to the gubernatorial candidate's refrain: exemptions and list structure. For regional councilors and assessors with limited mandates but eager for a third term, it appears only a few specific exemptions will be granted. "Ad hoc" exceptions for individual cases. The Pisan feud, in a city with the party under special administration, between Schlein supporter Alessandra Nardini and Bonaccini supporter Antonio Mazzeo—who was spotted in Rome in recent days to negotiate with national leaders—will be resolved with this formula: "Exemption for both or none."

As for the list, the argument about blocked candidacies is becoming more and more compelling. Just do the math: it's difficult to replicate 22 councilors with a broader coalition. Of the 18 estimated, it's better to block prominent excluded candidates like Iacopo Melio, squeezed in Florence between Cristina Giachi and Andrea Vannucci. Monia Monni is already locked in the council, with or without an agreement on her re-election.