The leader of the Democratic Party today at the Nazarene for the national direction of the Party which approved her report. Schlein attacked Giorgia Meloni: "The right-wingers go home, the sooner they vote the better." The prime minister replies: "Schlein answers today a question I asked her almost two weeks ago. At this rate I can do well at solving the problems of Italians." The Dem then claims the PD's superiority over its broad-based allies. Conte: “There are no alternatives to the primaries”
It is an Elly Schlein fighting against everyone who today presented herself to the national leadership of the Democratic Party. On the one hand there is Giorgia Meloni, attacked immediately for having "failed": "The right-wing parties go home, the sooner they vote the better". On the other hand there are the allies of the coalition, over which the dem secretariat claims a more important role for its party: "One is not worth one". The result was a continuous back and forth, which lasted all day, between Schlein and Meloni, with the incursion also of the five-star Giuseppe Conte for whom the only way to choose the prime ministerial candidate of the broad field is that of the primaries.
Schlein al Nazarene
But let's take a step back. Elly Schlein arrived at the Nazarene this morning with very clear ideas. "This direction comes at a decisive moment for the Democratic Party, for the center-left and for the country", he said, opening his report. "We have months ahead of us that will decide the future of Italy and Europe. We have the duty to face them with a sense of responsibility and with that unity that we have built together and which is our greatest strength." The dem secretary then went on the attack, primarily against the government: "They celebrated the longest-serving government with disproportionate fanfare, but stability if it translates into immobility does not do the country any good. You can stay in Palazzo Chigi for a long time while the country stands still, as Giorgia Meloni did".
Schlein-Meloni question and answer
Then the feud moved to a personal level, with Schlein resuming a back-and-forth with the prime minister that began two weeks ago. The leader of the Democratic Party responded to Meloni's joke two weeks ago who said: "Elly, say something true." "I'll tell them 10 - replied Schlein - They said to lower taxes, we are at record tax pressure in the last ten years, the right has made rhetoric about the birth rate but not politics, job insecurity especially affects women and young people... More taxes, more debt, skyrocketing cost of living, low salaries and no growth. This is their legacy". And the response from the Prime Minister, via social media, was not long in coming: "Elly Schlein responds today to a question I asked her almost two weeks ago. At this rate I can see myself being able to solve the problems of Italians well. P.S. Ah, and obviously she does so by listing ten falsehoods". A ping pong game was played between the two leaders on response times. Meloni, Schlein replied in turn, "can raise his voice and shout, but in the end the facts remain, and the Italians who experience it firsthand every day know this". Then the thrust: "Meloni scolds me about the response times, I point out that it took you four years to obtain these results" about "record taxes, stagnant salaries, very expensive energy, increasing poverty, exhausted healthcare, historic low in births, economic immobility, decline in industrial production".
Role of the Democratic Party in the broad field
But Elly Schlein's speech is not only against Giorgia Meloni. Much of the report is instead dedicated to the broad field, claiming a superior role for the Democratic Party over other left-wing allies. "The program is written with the entire alliance, knowing full well that we need to be inclusive, but that no one is worth one in that discussion", underlined the Dem leader. "Because - he added - no one has given us anything, if we are solidly the first opposition party we have earned it with sweat and commitment, to convince people one by one that they have given us double the votes of the other forces, in the European, regional and municipal elections. Generous yes, naive no".
Conte: “The only way is the primaries”
Elly Schlein then alluded to the possibility of her being the leader of the broad field for the elections. "Leading the party that gets an extra vote is not hegemony, it's democracy - underlined the Dem secretary - If there are those who don't recognize this democratic principle, we will hold the primaries, we will do them and we will win them together, then taking care to represent everyone. We are not afraid of the vote and of democracy. Both the agreement for those who get an extra vote and the primaries require popular legitimation". A speech that was not welcomed by the leader of the 5 Star Movement Giuseppe Conte, for whom the only way to establish the name at the helm of the broad field is the primaries: "Schlein - explained Conte - has officially confirmed that for her there are two paths: either she is the candidate for prime minister or there will be primaries. I believe at this point that the path is very clear, there are no alternatives, it will be the path of the primaries, because we must always prefer the direction of Democratic participation". Later, the M5s leader returned to sting the boundaries of the coalition: "Schlein is taking on a great political responsibility by wanting Renzi from the beginning - he said during an event in Frosinone -. If he thinks it is an added value he will be the direct guarantor of this contribution".
Report voted unanimously
At the end of the day at the Nazarene, the PD leadership unanimously approved Secretary Schlein's report. The reformist wing, a minority of the party, according to what was learned from some participants in the meeting, did not participate in the vote which was greeted with applause. "Today the leadership of the Democratic Party gave Elly Schlein a clear and strong mandate to do what the country needs", declared Chiara Braga, leader of the Democratic Party group in the Chamber, in a note, adding the intention to continue "with decision and pride in the process of building the centre-left coalition, starting from the program on which we will summarize with our allies and to which we will bring our priorities and the much common work already done together in Parliament".
