Schlein and the European charter to cure the malaise of the reformists

Open up to reformisms. Or rather, reform the reformisms. If this advice given to Elly Schlein comes from the former prime minister Romano Prodi, evidently the new secretary of the Democratic Party has no reason to ignore it. Because one of the first signs felt after his coronation to the top dem was precisely that background noise of those who, like the former minister Beppe Fioreni, has already said that he wants to tear. To look, after the victory of a more radical figure on the left, to the moderate centre. In short, he thinks the popular family, one of the dem souls, of moving elsewhere, of leaving the Democratic Party. No small headache for the secretary who will replace Enrico Letta, who hasn’t even had time to take office and already has to deal with these hypothesis of split always postponedat least since the birth of Article 1. And in the meantime he must also beware of the pitfalls of the M5s and the Third Pole, interested in sucking consensus, all the more so after the party’s imbalance to the left.

The fact is that Schlein is clear about the onerousness of the commitment facing him. It is no coincidence that yesterday, after meeting the outgoing secretary Letta for the handover, he recalled that “the effort is to work for maximum unity, to keep this democratic community together”. Even before the conclusion of the primaries you had shown that you were inclusive, you said that you would involve your opponents in the new Democratic Party. And it is precisely from your choices that you will make now that you will understand more about the attempt to unify the party. It came out of a consultation that made the rift between the two candidates and their respective souls plastic.

The outgoing deputy secretary also reiterated this today Beppe Provenzano, supporter of the Schlein motion. “We are all reformists. With this right, splitting would be a crime,” he said in an interview with the Press. Echoing the positions of the probable next deputy secretary Marco Furfaro. According to which Schlein will now have to keep “the party open and expand it”. And by what choice will this attempt at enlargement pass? It has not escaped observers that one of the most prominent figures in support of Bonaccini to compliment Schlein was the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella. For him, prices are rising as a possible next president of the Democratic Party. It would be a sign of acceptance of the demands of the reformist camp, given that Nardella is part of the so-called party of mayors, all lined up on the side of the president of Emilia-Romagna.

But there’s more. Because in conjunction with the expiry of the second term as mayor of the Tuscan capital, Schlein is thinking of running Nardella in the next European elections in spring 2024, his first real test as secretary. That appointment will be a sort of redde rationem among the Democrats. Because many of the outgoing MEPs are close to Bonaccini, starting with the vice president of the European Parliament Pina Picierno. And also in the light of the Qatar gate scandal, Schlein could opt for lists with new names, such as the mayor of Milan Beppe Sala. If until then she will have succeeded in the enterprise of not imploding the Democratic Party is a story yet to be written.