Pd, who are the 978 members of the assembly and why Schlein is forced to mediate (despite the triumph in the primaries) – Corriere.it

Elly Schlein will be officially crowned secretary of the Democratic Party during the party’s national assembly, which will meet at Nuvola di Fuksas in Rome on Sunday 12 March.
The new leader — the tenth since the foundation and first woman to lead the dem — was (surprisingly in all polls) the undisputed winner in the primaries,
beating the reformist Stefano Bonaccini.

The 600 elected members (20 more are recognized to Cuperlo’s supporters as a right to the rostrum) in the national assembly, according to what is indicated in the statute, they constitute the key organ of the Democratic Party: the only one which, with the favorable vote of the absolute majority of its members , can discourage the secretary.

So, as often happens in politics, the secretary’s first step will be to bring the numbers to hers. But it is not a foregone conclusion, because without an agreement with the minority the margins would have been too narrow. Schlein, after his victory in the primaries, can count on 333 delegates, Bonaccini on 267 and Gianni Cuperlo on 20. A reversal compared to the result of the congresses of the clubs that had seen the governor of Emilia-Romagna emerge victorious (52.87%) compared to Schlein’s 34.88%.

The key moment on Sunday will be the election of the president, for which 978 eligible voters will be able to vote: for this reason, after an internal discussion on the dem left, Schlein gave the green light to Bonaccini as president, to keep the party united. A mediation to which the leader was forced by the numbers, despite the triumph in the primary tents.

TO

this passage, in addition to the 620 elected members, many other members of the assembly will also be able to participate: the founding secretaries of the Pd (Enrico Letta, one of these), the former national secretaries of the Pd, the former presidents of the Council (Paolo Gentiloni and, once again, Letta), the regional and provincial secretaries, as well as those of the overseas federations, metropolitan federations, the spokeswoman for the National Conference of Women, the secretary of the Young Democrats; one hundred deputies, senators and MEPs adhering to the party indicated by the respective groups, the mayors of metropolitan cities, provincial and regional capitals and the regional presidents in office.

Schlein’s game, having received the formality of his election as secretary, is therefore played out on 978 votes. in fact, from the analysis of this result it will be understood how and to what extent the leader will be able to keep her party united.

But how was it in the past?

Nicola Zingaretti, elected secretary in March 2019, could count on 653 delegates out of a thousand
of which the assembly was made up at the time (before the reform of the statute of 19 November 2022), against 228 for Maurizio Martina and 119 for Roberto Giachetti. Even better
went to Matteo Renzi in 2017 when he secured an overwhelming majority of 700 delegates,
against Andrea Orlando’s 212 and Michele Emiliano’s 88.