While Rome burns

The centre right has fallen into complete disarray over their choice of mayor.   After a good deal of oohing and aahing Meloni threw her hat into the ring, which meant that various politicians all said that her place was at home being a mother, which caused an outcry from most women.   Berlo decides that Salvini is trying to oust him, and so throws himself back into the political fray annoucing his candidature as the next PM.  Again.   At the moment we have two centre right candidates for Rome – Meloni and Bertolaso – Salvini and Berlo refuse to back down – so at the moment it will be a split vote, which, as nobody actually wants to be mayor of Rome, could be their salvation.

The elections approach and the only true candidate is that of the M5S who is young, intelligent and female, but with no politiical experience whatsoever.   The M5S candidate for Milan has backed out as she was a perfectly normal early middle aged intelligent woman – and the press decided to call her everything from frumpy to obese and she couldnt hack it.  In Italy it’s still sad to say that women are judged solely on their appearance.

So in our flawed democracy we have a PD candidate voted for by 50.000 Romans, a pathetic show of support and antidemocratic cries the rightwing, until a week later only 45000 voters choose Bertolaso under Berlo’s one name only primary system.  The M5S candidate is voted for by a few hundred online members, giving Renzi the opportunity to shout about the PD’s internal democracy,  while at the same time ordering the PD to abstain inthe April referendum on oil and gas drilling in the coastal waters.   The government, which hasnt done anything about the last referendum on public ownership of water 5 years ago, now shelves the entire referendum  result saying its no longer relevant.    it makes the American system look almost democratic.