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### Viewing cable 07ROME877, ITALY: DS AND DAISY TO FORM DEMOCRATIC PARTY

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07ROME877 | 2007-04-27 10:53 | 2011-03-15 11:00 | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | Embassy Rome

`

    VZCZCXRO2851
    RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHRO #0877/01 1171053
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 271053Z APR 07
    FM AMEMBASSY ROME
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7854
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 2337
    RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 8584
    RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 2497

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000877

    SIPDIS

    NOFORN
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2017
    TAGS: PGOV IT

    SUBJECT: ITALY: DS AND DAISY TO FORM DEMOCRATIC PARTY

    REF: A. ROME DAILY REPORT (APRIL 23 2007)
         ¶B. ROME DAILY REPORT (APRIL 26 2007)

    ROME 00000877  001.4 OF 002

    Classified By: Acting Political Minister Counselor Jonathan Cohen for r
    easons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    SUMMARY
    -------

    ¶1. (C) From April 19 to 22, Italy's Democrats of the Left
    (DS) and the Democracy and Liberty--The Margherita (Daisy)
    parties held what were likely their last respective party
    congresses. Both parties announced their pending dissolution
    and intent to jointly constitute a new Democratic Party (PD)
    in the spring of 2008.  Serious disagreements about the
    future suggest the PD birth will not be easy.  Nevertheless,
    it could introduce a new center-left force and bring more
    stability to any future center-left government.  In the short
    run, it will increase pressure for electoral reform (SEPTEL),
    a politically tumultuous process.  END SUMMARY.

    DS/DAISY PARTIES HERALD DEMOCRATIC PARTY
    ----------------------------------------

    ¶2. (C) From April 19 to 22, the Democrats of the Left (DS)
    and the Democracy and Liberty--the Margherita (Daisy) parties
    held what were likely their last respective party congresses
    (REF A). Both announced the dissolution of their parties and
    intent to jointly constitute a new Democratic Party (PD) in
    the spring of 2008.  DS/Daisy leaders claim formation of the
    PD will create a powerful force in the center-left that will
    bring more stability to future center-left governments.
    Though heralded as an historic achievement (the first time
    two major Italian parties have decided to join forces), the
    decision was greeted with concern among many in the party
    rank-and-file and with apathy among the Italian public.

    ¶3. (SBU) With party delegates chosen and issues hashed out in
    advance, most decisions were known before the actual
    congresses began.  Piero Fassino was confirmed as DS Party
    Secretary and Francesco Rutelli was re-elected Daisy

    SIPDIS
    President.  This cable: 1) highlights both conferences, 2)
    discusses challenges to the creation of the PD, and 3)
    discusses implications of the PD for the Italian government.

    CONGRESS ATMOSPHERICS
    ---------------------

    ¶4. (C) DS CONGRESS:  The DS congress was a nostalgic affair
    with leaders recalling various periods of political
    transformation, especially the dissolution of the former
    Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1992.  Fassino delivered an
    all-inclusive 90-minute justification for the PD, and the
    policies he would like to bring to it.  Fabio Mussi, leader
    of the left wing ""correntone"" of the DS, confirmed his
    opposition to the PD and his departure from the DS in a
    speech laced with leftist rhetoric.  Rome Mayor Walter
    Veltroni offered a well-received address that observers say
    was the only one with a vision for the PD and which confirmed
    Veltroni as a potential PD leader.  The enthusiastic welcome
    for FM Massimo D'Alema demonstrated his firm position as the
    DS heavyweight.

    ¶5. (C) DAISY CONGRESS: Confirmed as party President, Rutelli
    fended off an offensive from conservative former Christian
    Democrats (i Popolari) such as Enrico Letta, Dario
    Francheschini, and Giuseppe Fioroni.  The Daisy conference
    lacked the drama of the DS congress, but party infighting was
    more apparent.  MoD Arturo Parisi left the congress prior to
    the final vote to protest the lack of clarity on exactly how
    the PD would be formed.

    DIFFICULT ROAD TO ACTUAL PD FORMATION
    -------------------------------------

    ¶6. (C) While the DS and the Daisy announced their intention
    to create the PD, the only other point they agreed on was the
    inadequacy of the party manifesto drafted prior to the
    conventions.  There is no clarity on practical issues such
    as: what to do with the two party newspapers; the future PD
    party symbol; how local offices would be merged, etc.  There
    are also several policy disagreements between the DS and the
    Daisy parties. The three most divisive issues have been:

    International Association: The DS argued forcefully for the
    PD to be included in the European Socialist Party (PSE), a
    step Daisy leaders strongly oppose.  This ""identity"" issue is
    essential for party stalwarts in both groups, weary of
    surrendering the party soul to former ""communists"" and former

    ROME 00000877  002.2 OF 002

    ""Christian Democrats,"" respectively. A comprise involving a
    ""soft association"" simultaneously with the PSE and other more
    reformist parties appears to be emerging, but has done little
    to settle DS fears that the PD will be too moderate and Daisy
    concerns the PD will be too leftist.

    Christian Identity: The core of the DS party is secular with
    a strong anti-clerical faction.  Calls for support of gay
    marriage and diatribes against the Vatican's interference in
    Italian politics received strong approval from DS members.
    The Daisy Party includes many former Christian Democrats
    closely linked to the Vatican who are inflexible in their
    opposition to gay marriage.

    PD Leadership: A consensus has emerged that PM Romano Prodi
    should be the PD Party Leader until his announced departure
    at the end of the current legislative period (2011, according
    to Prodi). However, there is no end to the list of aspirants
    for leadership as soon as Prodi leaves the scene, and the
    Daisy is particularly concerned that the larger DS will use
    its more-organized party structure to dominate the Daisy
    party in leadership contests.

    THE PD: LOOKING LESS THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶7. (C) For the time being, the future PD appears to be less
    than the sum of its parts. A few days after the DS Congress,
    left-leaning DS leader Gavino Angius also announced his
    departure from the DS over the creation of the PD (REF B).
    Together Mussi and Angius received 24.4 percent of the
    leadership vote at the DS congress, compared to DS Secretary
    Piero Fassino's 75.6 percent.  Ten Senators and 22 Deputies
    are expected to join Mussi and Angius in opting out of the
    future PD. Moreover, the DS and Daisy are suffering in
    opinion polls for their association with the radical left, an
    association they are unwilling/unable to break.

    ¶8. (C) COMMENT: Having publicly committed themselves to the
    PD, will not turn back. Consolidation of Italy's numerous
    parties on both the left and the right would be a positive
    step for political stability, and the PD has potential to
    spur that development beyond the DS/Daisy merger.  However,
    the process will be difficult, possibly longer than
    predicted, and could leave serious political turbulence in
    its wake, as has already been seen.  Stability in the next
    few months may turn on electoral reform (SEPTEL) and related
    maneuvering in Italian party politics. END COMMENT.
    Spogli
    "

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