Too much tension, Berlusconi and Alfano block Mauro’s succession

There is tension in the Pdl (People of Freedom) group in European Parliament and the Italian elections are only worsening the matter. After Mario Mauro jumped ship, leaving Berlusconi and joining the Mario Monti political group, the People of Freedom is still left without a leader  at the European Parliament. Just today (tuesday)a meeting was scheduled where they were supposed to select a new leader of the party in Brussels, but there was a halt on the initiative from Rome. “Everybody stop – they said from the national headquarters of the party – we will readdress it after the national elections.” And it seems they will talk about it in Rome, no longer at the European Parliament. Berlusconi and Alfano cannot (and don’t want to) allow the selection to endanger the already weak balance of the party. In addition to Mauro there are already 3 Meps who left the Cavaliere to make landfall on other shores. The Sicilian, Salvatore Iacolino, announced his candidacy for a position in the Senate with Micciché, of the Great South party, Marco Scurria and Carlo Fidanza, even without going directly on the battle field of the election campaign, they embraced the “Fratelli d’Italia” project, guided by Giorgia Meloni and Ignazion La Russa. Others could follow their lead.

The decision to block the nomination for the head of the delegation was not taken well by many European Parliament MPs of the Pdl, apprehensive to finalize this anomalous situation, and not at all happy to feel “under scrutiny” to Rome. In the name lottery for the succession to Mauro the most popular names were: Sergio Silvestris, current Mep; Giovanni La Via, Europarlamentarian like Mauro, very esteemed in Brussels for having managed difficult records like the budget; and Raffaele Baldassarre, Vice President of the Parliament’s Judiciary Committee. But there is still one month left before the Italian elections and surely depending on the results the balance could still change.