Hug between Schlein and Conte. Criticisms from the Pd: too different – Corriere.it

There was a burning sun, a crowd of cameras that made it impossible to breathe, but yesterday afternoon Elly Schlein wanted to find the space for a hug with Giuseppe Conte to give to the photographers. It was the beginning of the procession organized by the Five Stars. The secretary of the Democratic Party had thought of solving her dilemma as to whether or not to participate in a demonstration on the precariousness of work organized by the M5S. A photo and away, a mediation that turned out to be wrong: the criticisms were an avalanche, the toughest from her party.

Schlein’s idea was that of an appeal to the opposition to unite against the government. They had thus agreed in a morning phone call with Conte: let’s aggregate the other oppositions around us, keep Renzi out. And this the secretary declared in front of the jumble of microphones in the square. And so Giuseppe Conte picked up the ball: We are open to dialogue, we must work on common battles, on issues and not on top meetings.

But the embrace of the afternoon didn’t arrive in the evening. Criticisms of Schlein were a flurry. On the stage of the M5S demonstration Moni Ovadia spoke of the war in Ukraine defending the dictator Putin. And Lorenzo Guerini, former dem defense minister, went straight: I can’t help but point out my stellar distance from what has been said about Putin’s war in Ukraine. The Democratic Party is on the side of Ukraine, of its struggle for freedom and for the sovereignty of its people.

Following Simona Malpezzi, former leader of the senators of the Democratic Party: I totally agree with the words of Lorenzo Guerini. From Brussels the voice of the vice president of the European Parliament, the dem Pina Picierno was raised: Uniting the fundamental oppositions. But around what do we unite? To Moni Ovadia’s aberrant words about Ukraine or Beppe Grillo’s ravings about balaclavas?. Grillo had just finished his speech from the stage, and Alessia Morani from the direction of the Democratic Party followed Picierno’s comment: My position on Ukraine is the antipodes from that represented by the M5s in the square. I spread a pitiful veil on the balaclava brigades. Riccardo Magi secretary of +Europa: We cannot have the Resistance as a value and then lend our side to those who flirt with Putin like the M5S does. What were you doing there, Elly? .

The Political Diary newsletter

If you want to stay updated on political news, subscribe to the newsletter “Political Diary”. It is dedicated to Corriere della Sera subscribers and arrives twice a week at 12. Just click here.