Pina Picierno leaves the Democratic Party: “The house of reformists no longer exists”

Pina Picierno, vice president of the European Parliamentleaves the Democratic Party. In an interview with Il Foglio he explains: “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.” “The Democratic Party – he further states – has suffered a distortion due to inexorable slippages the party we wanted at Lingotto does not exist more and it is necessary to take note of it, but the reasons why it was born still exist”.

“If today there is a place in which the credibility, strength and future of European democracies are measured, that place is Kyiv. I look with amazement – he states in another passage – at the distinctions, at the silences that accompany the Italian debate on Ukraine”. According to what we learn from European parliamentary sources, Pina Picierno, who resigned from the PD, is ready to join Renew Europe and Sandro Gozi’s European Democratic Party.

Within the EU, the news of Picierno’s departure had been circulating for a while

In the corridors of the European Parliament the news had already been circulating for a while, and perhaps this is also why the comments can be counted on the fingers of one hand. For a long time dissent with Elly Schlein’s political line, the vice-president of the European Chamber had been “raising her voice” for months, asking the party for a clear position on Ukraine and against Putin. His last public initiative in the ranks of the Democrats dates back to June 1, when he read the art. 51 of the Constitution (the one that regulates the gender equality) on the esplanade of the European Parliament on the occasion of Republic Day. Next to her was the head of the dem delegation Nicola Zingaretti, who has not yet commented on the decision.

Only Irene Tinagli broke the silence and, in a radio interview, said she was “very sorry” for the abandonment. Claiming a personal relationship with Picierno, he added that he did not fully understand the reasons: “As regards foreign policy, the position on Ukraine and Russia, the Democratic Party has always been very clear even in the votes in the European Parliament, a line that we have always had together. Evidently there are also other aspects, and I think it is still important to talk about it”. No further comments come from the Democratic Party: perhaps out of embarrassment, perhaps because the matter is considered more linked to national dynamics than to those of Brussels.

In any case, from the “reformist house” the landing place is now Renew Europe, within the European Democratic Party led by Sandro Gozi. Now the game of renewing the presidency of the European Parliament begins, scheduled for the beginning of 2027. If the vice presidency is not under discussion with his farewell to the Democratic Party, many in the Eurochamber offices are ready to bet that Picierno will seek reconfirmation with Renew.

Gozi’s welcome: “Picerno has the courage to tell the truth”

“Pina Picierno had the merit of affirming a truth that many see and few have the courage to say. You can’t be pro-European every other dayi, Atlanticists for convenience or reformists only in words. We have a duty to build a great European governing force, which unites reformists, liberals, democrats and pragmatic ecologists, to respond credibly to the challenges of our time”. This was stated by Sandro Gozi, MEP for Renew Europe and general secretary of the European Democratic Party.

“The real division is between those who want a powerful Europe and those who chase populism”

“The war in Ukraine, the threat of autocracies and global competition do not wait for the Italian left to resolve its identity conflicts: they impose clear choices. Today the real division is not between right and left, but between those who want aEurope truly powercapable of deciding and acting, and who continues to chase populism, ambiguity and old ideological reflexes. Because the alternative is simple: either Europe becomes the protagonist of its own destiny, or others will decide for us.”