The third name is the one that everyone agrees on.
After hours and hours of telephone meetings between Potenza and Rome, with moments almost reminiscent of political psychodrama, the broad camp first defined its perimeter - with Pd, M5s, Avs, Psi, +Europa - then reached an agreement on the name to be line up at the Regionals in Basilicata in just over a month: Piero Marrese, mayor of Montalbano Jonico and president of the Province of Matera.
But there are still doubts to be resolved: for example the position of Action, which could support the centre-right candidate, the outgoing governor Vito Bardi, as Italia viva has already done;
or the role of Angelo Chiorazzo, the healthcare entrepreneur, who had been proposed by the Democratic Party and blocked by the M5s, forcing them to turn to surgeon Domenico Lacerenza, who remained in the running for only 72 days before taking a step back.
Without neglecting the waste that this troubled decision-making process may leave especially within the Democratic Party.
The Marrese solution - born in 1980, elected to lead the Province at the end of 2022 as the only candidate - was put on the coalition table in the morning, after negotiations that continued throughout the night, and then made official only in the evening.
With the clarification that "the proposal remains open to other civic forces in the same field who wish to join".
In the midst of this complicated day, the complaint from Carlo Calenda, "disconcerted" because his phone calls to Elly Schlein were not answered.
It is an attempt by the Dems to expand the Action coalition, held back by the Movement.
For hours, even after Marrese's candidacy was made official, the regional direction of Action remained in session, to which the leader delegated the choice - still kept under wraps - which coalition to support.
"Calenda has portrayed Action's position in various ways. It is difficult to understand exactly what his final assessments will be, but they have left the table. Now we have to move forward with whoever is there - says the PD's head of organisation, Igor Taruffi -. We spoke to everyone. This is currently the biggest point of failure."
"If Azione and Iv decide to support Bardi and Cirio it is a choice that we welcome", comments FI secretary Antonio Tajani.
And Mattero Renzi digs his finger into the wound of his former party: "The Democratic Party is no longer what it was before, it used to hold primaries, now it's choosing a primary, they're on their fifth candidate. The new Dem leadership doesn't hold primaries and isn't aiming for votes but to the vetoes: best wishes, that's fine, in my opinion Bardi wins."
"Municipal and regional affairs are always conditioned by local agreements and different histories - is the thesis of the leader of the Democratic group in the Senate Francesco Boccia -. The Democratic Party is the first party in the coalition and has the responsibility to always act for unity.
Who is it against the unity of the centre-left will answer to the voters in the next European elections".
Yet in the center-left, the idea is widespread that if we have reached the Lucanian stalemate of recent days it is also due to some unsuccessful moves in recent weeks.
Many think in particular of the former minister Roberto Speranza from Potenza.
If it was built with difficulty in Basilicata, in Piedmont the wide field seems to have no future.
"Now that the Democratic Party has her name, we believe there is no longer any reason to meet", is the position taken by the Piedmontese M5s, which declines the invitation of the Democratic Party candidate Gianna Pentenero.
A name about which there are also doubts in the Democratic Party.
Especially among those who hoped for a project involving Sergio Chiamparino and the M5s.
For now, explicit internal controversies are being avoided among the Dems.
But many are ready to question the method chosen so far for candidates in local elections.
We need to listen to the territories, is one of the observations heard in the party in these hours, without repeating mistakes like the one made in the by-elections in Monza for the seat in the Senate after the death of Silvio Berlusconi.
And we must continue the sewing work, to intercept the moderate world.
On the other hand, we can still observe among the Dems, some forces in the center-left are thinking about their positioning without guaranteeing the votes of their voters.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA