Milan Elections: Fidanza Urges Care Over Speed in Choosing Right-Wing Candidate

Carlo Fidanza is pushing back against calls to name the center-right’s Milan mayoral candidate within days. Matteo Salvini of the League and Alessandro Sorte of Forza Italia have suggested that a name could emerge within a week, but Fidanza says the coalition should not rush.

“Choosing well is more important than choosing quickly,” said Fidanza, the Brothers of Italy delegation leader in the European Parliament and a senior party figure in Lombardy. He said everyone wanted to begin the campaign, but argued that the center-left faced the greater difficulty after 15 years in government because it had no continuity candidate to present to the city.

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It is more important to choose well than to choose quickly.

Fidanza said he was not particularly interested in the distinction between a civic and a political candidate. Brothers of Italy, he said, was working to keep civic candidates within the coalition, describing the available names as high quality and their presence as a sign of vitality. The final decision, he added, would belong to the national leaders.

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I am not passionate about the question of whether the candidate is civic or political.

He dismissed the idea that the coalition’s disagreements had produced serious alternative proposals. On Ignazio La Russa’s suggestion that Maurizio Lupi, the leader of Noi Moderati, could run, Fidanza noted that Lupi was not a Brothers of Italy figure and said the party nevertheless confirmed its esteem for him.

Fidanza also rejected the claim by former mayor Gabriele Albertini that Mario Calabresi would win in the first round if nominated by the center-left. Calabresi is not yet a candidate, he said, and the center-left is engaged in a heated debate. While calling Calabresi a prestigious name, Fidanza pointed to his lack of administrative experience and said a mayoral candidate must be judged on whether they can run the complex machinery of Palazzo Marino. He added that the center-right could win in Milan and said the coalition agreement over the regional government remained intact.

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We can win in Milan.