From Borghi to Picierno, the slow reformist diaspora within the Democratic Party

Last came Picierno. But the farewells from the reformists of Democratic Party they may not stop. That of the Vice President of the European Parliament was one of the names released for months now, together with that of Graziano Delriowho however assures that he wants to stay, and to Giorgio Gori. A ‘slow diaspora’ that starts from afar and precisely from spring 2023, shortly after the victory of Elly Schlein in the primaries.

– ENRICO BORGHI –

The first to take the exit route was Enrico Borghi, a prominent name in the party of which he had been, together with Enrico Letta, responsible for security policies. A heavy farewell for at least two reasons. The first: at the time of his farewell, Borghi is already a member of Copasir and this produces, for the dems, an imbalance of forces within the Committee for the Security of the Republic, given that the other dem member is Lorenzo Guerini who, as president, is required to have the role of impartial referee within the body. The second reason that makes Borghi’s farewell painful for the Democrats is the MP’s own history. The cursus honorum is the one common to many dem reformists: former Christian Democrat, then with Martinazzoli in the Italian People’s Party, then with Rutelli in the Margherita and finally in the Democratic Party of which he collaborates in drawing up the “Manifesto of Values”. He becomes a point of reference for the Reformist Base current in the Democratic Party. “The Democratic Party has become the home of a maximalist left, daughter of the American cancel culture that does not synthesize and does not dialogue”, his farewell message

– ANNAMARIA FURLAN –

Another thoughtful farewell was that of Annamaria Furlan, a Democratic Party senator with a past as a trade union leader in the CISL, who on 7 March 2025 left the group in the Senate and the party to migrate to Italia Viva. The Renzians, Furlan explains in the letter announcing his farewell, guarantee a greater commonality of views on issues that are politically “characteristic”, first of all work. The farewell of the former union leader has more ‘dramatic’ connotations than that of Enrico Borghi, coming at the end of a long tug-of-war within the Democratic Party regarding the law on worker participation in corporate governance. A law that does not convince the left-wing majority of the Democratic Party and which, instead, is supported by the liberal and moderate wing.

– ELISABETTA GUALMINI –

The case of MEP Elisabetta Gualmini is different. Academic, political analyst, Gualmini arrived in politics with Stefano Bonaccini, in the Emilia Romagna Region, since 22 December 2014. In 2019 the then secretary of the Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti, nominated Calenda in Europe who, with the manifesto “We are Europeans”, ran ‘associated’ with the Democratic Party lists. The farewell arrives in February 2026. “A return home”, explains Gualmini when announcing his membership in Azione. And he attacks: “A genetic mutation is underway in the Democratic Party.”

– MARIANNA MADIA –

“Friends, I try from another perspective to build a piece of the centre-left. Always united for the same objective: to free Italy from this terrible government. I embrace you all”, writes Marianna Madia in the reformists’ chat on 4 May this year. It had been talked about for months, but the message still had the effect of a roar, especially among reformists. Madia’s story is that of a native demo: first alongside Enrico Letta in Arel, the foundation created by Beniamino Andreatta. Then, between 2006 and 2008, at Palazzo Chigi where he entered the technical secretariat of Letta for the first time, then undersecretary to the Prime Minister. In 2008 it crossed the threshold of Montecitorio thanks to the first secretary of the Democratic Party, Walter Veltroni, who wanted it to be the leader in the Lazio 1 constituency.

– PINA PICIERNO –

Finally, the vice-president of the European Parliament, very critical of the secretary Elly Schlein, especially with respect to a line she considers ambiguous on Ukraine. For her, “the house of the reformists is no longer there. You can’t be ambiguous with Putin’s fascism and extremism. It’s time to work on something new, to win the elections.” She grew up politically in the Italian People’s Party and in Ciriaco De Mita’s Irpinia, to whom she has repeatedly declared her political closeness. In 2002 he espoused the Margherita cause, joining it together with the PPI, Lamberto Dini’s Rinnovamento Italiano and Arturo Parisi’s Democrats. In 2007 he took part in the dissolution of Margherita and the birth of the Democratic Party of which he became youth manager under the secretary of Walter Veltroni. Like Madia, she also entered Parliament, the Chamber, in 2008, running as the leader in the Campania elections. “I had a lot of doubts”, underlines Picierno when announcing her farewell, “I was more than torn, but I believe that out of respect for my political and personal dignity the time has come to leave Elly Schlein’s Democratic Party, which has become a different place from the one we founded and because I have always asked politicians for the strength and courage to make the right choices in conscience. Now it’s up to me to have courage”.