To the right and left of Elly
“Sinistrelly”, “communistelly”, “Zt-elly”, the newspapers these days have indulged in creative headlines to comment on the news of the moment: the primaries have crowned Elly Schlein as secretary of the Democratic Party, a nomination that determines a turn to the left, on paper, of the main opposition party and that is consequently triggering a general repositioning of the political balance. The centre-right seems to have welcomed the new leader with captious satisfaction. And the reason is obvious: she is a divisive figure within the Pd powder keg and with her marked left-wing identity she will have to demonstrate great political qualities to constitute a strong leadership shared by all the souls of the Nazareno. And the first signs of discontent were not long in coming: Beppe Fioroni has already left the party and could be followed by others (Cottarelli? Serracchiani? Gori? these are the names that have been circulating). These are suppositions. What is certain is that Schlein is working on the new governance of the party and that from the new nomenclature could come excellent turn-overs. The Secretary’s magic circle will certainly have weight in the party’s reorganisation: Marco Furfaro, Schlein’s former spokesperson, could become the deputy; his Campanian colleague Marco Sarracino, on the other hand, an Orlandian, could take care of the party’s organisation. Francesco Boccia, coordinator of the Schlein motion, could become the new group leader in the Senate; Michela De Biase in the Chamber. Alessandro Zan should be given the delegation for rights, while Stefania Bonaldi should be given the delegation for territories. The entourage could also include Chiara Gribaudo, whose name is also circulating as a candidate for the regional elections in Piedmont.
The PD base is sceptical: if Zingaretti, who was voted in by more than 60 per cent of the members, had not succeeded in changing the party, could Schlein, who took just 37 per cent of the votes from within the party, manage to do so, except for winning at the gazebo? This is what many are asking themselves. And Terzo Polo is taking advantage of this, with Renzi and Calenda seeming to have put aside the hatchet and, indeed, are now talking about creating a single party by the end of the year, which would become a home for moderate reformists. A house also open to the discontented of the PD. Those who do not rejoice, however, is Giuseppe Conte. His Movimento 5 Stelle, until now the only alternative to the “left” now has a serious competitor. And indeed, all eyes are on the possible (or rather not impossible) federative agreement between the PD and 5Stelle. In the meantime, Schlein has already set the date for her first public appearance as secretary of the PD: she will be on Saturday at the anti-fascist demonstration in Florence, which will be attended by Conte himself.
Her first statement as secretary, however, she has already made in the Chamber, lashing out at Interior Minister Piantedosi, whose resignation she demanded after his “equivocal” words in the aftermath of the shipwreck of the boatload of migrants off Crotone («Desperation can never justify travel conditions that endanger the lives of one’s children»). A new thorn in the side for Meloni, who for the second time had to make amends after an offhand sortie by her Minister. The resignation, for the moment, is not under discussion, but the Prime Minister is certainly studying an exit strategy, also to give a signal to his own people, who have already shown themselves to be poorly disciplined in their communication choices. Moreover, the embarrassment was not insignificant, also because while the controversy was being raised in Italy, Giorgia Meloni was in New Delhi for a summit of great commercial importance with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A summit from which Italy emerged stronger. The two countries signed trade and cooperation agreements in many fields. An important move for the Italian government, which aims to consolidate the axis with the eastern giants.
