Italian MEP Pina Picierno Leaves Center-Left for Liberals

BRUSSELS — European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno on Thursday left the Italian Democratic Party and the center-left group in the European Parliament, and is poised to join the liberals.

Picierno, who has been an MEP since 2014, told the Italian newspaper Il Foglio that she was leaving the center-left party because some of its members were ambiguous in their support for Ukraine and in their condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Kyiv. She added that the party is increasingly populist under leader Elly Schlein.

“The home of the reformists is no more. We cannot be ambiguous about Putin’s brand of fascism and extremism. It’s time to work on something new, to win the elections,” Picierno told Il Foglio.

Picierno did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Picierno will join Italy’s European Democratic Party, which is part of the Parliament’s liberal Renew Europe group, home to lawmakers from French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten’s parties, according to a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to speak about internal moves.

“Pina Picierno deserves credit for stating a truth that many can see but few have the courage to say,” said Sandro Gozi, a Renew Europe MEP and secretary general of the European Democratic Party. “One cannot be pro-European only on alternate days, Atlanticist when convenient, or reformist only in words. We have a duty to build a major European governing force, bringing together reformists, liberals, democrats and pragmatic ecologists, in order to respond credibly to the challenges of our time.”

Another Italian MEP, Elisabetta Gualmini, defected from the Socialists & Democrats to Renew in February.

These moves strengthen Renew’s hand ahead of the Parliament’s midterm reshuffle, when political groups will haggle over the institution’s top posts. Renew is seeking to bolster its ranks as it battles the European Conservatives and Reformists group to be the Parliament’s fourth-largest political family. In February, German non-attached MEP Lukas Sieper also joined Renew.