Pd: Schlein towards extension for the secretariat, while doubts about the primaries grow

There is a date circled in red on the PD calendar: 13 March 2027. That day the mandate of Elly Schleininstalled four years earlier, after winning the primaries against Stefano Bonacciniduring the assembly at the Nuvola dell’Eur. Therefore, for the first time in the history of the Democratic Party, the issue of extending the leader’s mandate arises. It had never happened before.

The precedents

And Veltroni a Bersaniyes Renzi a Zingarettithe previous secretaries all resigned before the expiry of their mandate, sometimes due to a ‘stinging’ defeat, like the elections in Sardinia for Veltroni, sometimes due to internal attrition, like for Zingaretti.

Dem sources “Nobody questions Schlein”

According to parliamentary sources, the request for a technical step to extend the mandate is not in the air: “No one is questioning Schlein at the moment”, is the reasoning being given. The alternative would be a vote in the assembly to vote on the exemption, but there seems to be no signs in this sense. At least at the moment. A long-time manager, however, warns: “Without a technical step that provides a legal basis, every act of the secretary could be challenged.” In any case, the numbers that Schlein enjoys in the assembly would protect her from surprises. Going down the path of the congress is unimaginable, given the proximity to the political elections and, even before that, to the coalition primaries.

The (now faded) hypothesis of the congress

A ‘real’ congress, in which the secretary brings the leadership of the Nazarene into play, perhaps with the aim of strengthening his leadership even further and thus also sending a signal to the competitors for the position of candidate for Palazzo Chigiwas an idea cherished by those closest to the leader. But this was true until four months ago, when the politics were far away and there was still no talk of coalition primaries. The idea of ​​the assembly has returned to circulation in PD circles due to a strange coincidence of dates. According to the statute, the Democratic Party meeting should be convened six months before the secretary’s mandate expires, therefore on 13 September. Coincidentally, the day of the conclusion of the National Unity Day in Reggio Emilia, which will be closed by Schlein’s speech. An opportunity for the secretary to clarify the path to take between now and the next elections. Coalition primaries included. So far the dem leader’s line on this has been solid: the prime ministerial candidate will be the one who wins the coalition primaries or, in the absence of primaries, who gets one more vote in the next elections.

The choice of the prime minister candidate in the broad field

Of course, there is the issue of Stable and the indication of the prime minister in the program deposited with the lists. A theme on which the exponents of the different areas are practicing. Lastly, Roberto Speranza who caught the internal majority, of which he is part, off guard by asking to put the gazebos in the icebox. A position rejected by the left dem, of which Speranza is part, who explained that it was neither an “agreed nor shared” position. Scanning the dem currents, however, Speranza is not the only one to have doubts about the opportunity to take the path of coalition primaries.

A coalition that is still too fragile

The fears concern the stability of an alliance that still appears fragile and marked by deviations forward and sideways by the protagonists. Lastly that of Conte on the woke which appeared to the Dems as a direct signal to the secretary. Among the allies, then, there is the red-green alliance that advises prudence: “The primaries are not the devil, but they must be preceded by a clear programmatic agreement”, he says Angelo Bonelli: “And, if they are done, I put forward a proposal: let’s nominate a partisan or a partisan, or the president of one of the committees of the families of the victims of the fascist massacres, from Piazza Fontana to the Bologna station”. Michele De Pascale also joins the ‘Ni’ party, given that they raise doubts about the primaries. While reiterating that “there is no need to be afraid of the primaries”, the president of Emilia Romagna admits that “if a survey were carried out on the primaries among the centre-left people I think the prevailing opinion would be against”. And Stefano Bonaccini does not hide a certain intolerance for the debate that has been triggered, even placing a heavy “if” before the hypothesis of the primaries: “Once the perimeter of the coalition has been built around a shared programme, we will decide how to choose the leadership that will have to guide it. And the primaries could also be the instrument to designate it”.

The position of the reformists

The reformists have no doubts about the gazebos: “We are left to defend the Schlein line” in the primaries, ironically underlines a parliamentarian from the internal minority who also focuses on the hypothesis of a third name, a ‘foreign pope’ who can bring peace between the duelists Schlein and Conte: “There is no doubt that with Conte on the field, our vote for Schlein is to be considered armored. And then she is the party secretary.” Words that refer to those of Graziano Delrio to the Corriere: “If we discuss serious matters and not formulas there is no danger. Schlein won the PD primaries, she is the secretary of the major party. And if she is not recognised, like Meloni, the right to lead, she has every right to compete to lead the country”.