Licio Gelli and the Referendum: Why the Venerable One's Ghost Still Divides Italy

Anyone who frequents the corridors of power in Rome knows it well: there are ghosts that never quite leave. And among them, the most cumbersome, the most elegant, the most elusive, remains him: Licio Gelli. The Venerable Master of the P2 Lodge isn't just a chapter of national history tucked away between the pages of textbooks. Today, in March 2026, just days out from the justice referendum, his name has once again become a wild card in public debate. And not for posthumous celebrations, but for an uncomfortable truth: the Plan for Democratic Rebirth, that document which dreamed of rewriting the state's rules, seems to have become, for many, a prophecy.

The Son, the Minister, and the "Copyright" of History

It all kicked off again with an interview that did the rounds on the talk shows. Maurizio Gelli, Licio's son, with a composure that left many cold, explained that his father would have looked with extreme favour upon the current reform of the judiciary. "My father was far-sighted," he declared, sparking the ire of the No camp. Marco Travaglio, in his presentations, was scathing: this is a reform that has the Venerable One himself as its "noble father". And Giuseppe Conte, now used to wielding the populist stamp, upped the ante by talking about Licio Gelli's "copyright" over the entire referendum framework.

But the issue is more nuanced than a simple invocation. Because on the other side, Minister Carlo Nordio, with that Venetian inquisitor's phlegm, had already given as good as he got: if an idea is right, it doesn't matter who thought of it first. "I don't see why we shouldn't follow a just opinion just because he said it," he repeated on several occasions, sparking an uproar. And here's the rub. Because while it's true that the separation of careers was indeed a point in the Plan, anyone who has read that document knows it was embedded in a very different context: the public prosecutor was to fall under the executive, and the CSM was to answer to Parliament. A not insignificant difference, which however, in the vortex of political polemic, is systematically swept away.

The Toxic Legacy of an Anniversary

We live in a strange period, where anniversaries pile up. In recent weeks, there's been a lot of talk about Anniversaries: The Italy of Licio Gelli, almost as if trying to come to terms with a country that no longer exists. But the truth is, Gelli's Italy – that of occult plots, rogue intelligence services, and fixers – never really disappeared. It just evolved. Today, while the centre-left rends its garments evoking the spectre of the P2 to stop the vote, there are those, like the League's frontman in Castelfiorentino, who invite us to stick to the merits, avoiding "ideological positions."

Yet, the Venerable One's shadow is so long that even Nino Di Matteo, during a rally, had to admit the game is dirty: "The mafiosi will vote Yes," he said, causing an uproar, but adding that they will do so because they feel legitimised by those who want to put a leash on magistrates. Heavy words, which led the Quirinal to invite everyone to lower the tone. But by now, the die is cast. The referendum is no longer just about justice: it's a referendum on who has the right to tell the story of this country.

The Business Behind the Myth

And here we get to the point that interests us analysts the most. Outside the courtrooms and talk shows, there's a buzzing market. Sales of essays analysing the phenomenon, like those from the Myths in Poetry - Licio Gelli - Laterza Giuseppe Edizioni series, are literally exploding. Gelli's figure, now mainstream as the archetype of "shadow power", sells. It sells books, it sells investigations, it sells clicks. And it also sells a certain idea of ​​prosecutorial rebellion that, paradoxically, fuels both sides.

For those investing in political communication, the lesson is clear:

• Symbolic narrative beats technicalities: evoking Gelli or the P2 triggers an immediate emotional response that no data on trial speed could ever match.
• Polarisation is an annuity: the harsher the clash, the more advertising space and newspaper subscriptions are sold. The "Gelli case" is the perfect mud-slinging machine, but it's also the perfect cash machine.
• Short memory is a resource: few remember the details of the Plan for Democratic Rebirth, but everyone remembers the word "P2". That's enough to swing votes and create factions.

Looking beyond next voting Sunday, I expect that, regardless of the outcome, this referendum round will mark a turning point. For the first time in decades, the ghost of Licio Gelli has been invoked not as an archaeological relic, but as an active protagonist in the political debate. Whether Yes or No wins, the right or the left, one thing is certain: the Venerable One, from his exile in South America first and from the grave later, has won his most important battle: still being, years later, the linchpin of Italian public debate. And in a country that never comes to terms with its past, that, heaven forbid, isn't news.