Pd, national assembly tomorrow: Schlein locks down the statute in view of the primaries

“Unity – To change Italy” is the title chosen for the national assembly of the Democratic Party which tomorrow is called to modify article 8 of the Statute to allow the secretary to lead the party at least until the political elections. A step that seems obvious, given the numbers on the field. At the end of the 2023 primaries Elly Schlein had 333 delegates, Stefano Bonaccini 267, Gianni Cuperlo 20. Almost four years have passed since then and the cards in the Democratic Party have been shuffled, making Schlein’s initial advantage a real domination within the Dem parliament. Bonaccini, who was initially the head of the internal minority, has adopted an increasingly collaborative approach with the secretary, his vice president at the time of the council in Emilia Romagna. The same can be said for Gianni Cuperlo, candidate of the “orthodox left” of the party in the last primaries, himself a conflict in the “current” of the Montepulciano majority.

The number of delegates

In total 620 delegates to which are added other members of the assembly: the founding secretaries of the Democratic Party, from Veltroni to Franceschini, from Bersani to Enrico Letta; the registered former national secretaries of the Democratic Party; the former Prime Ministers registered (Paolo Gentiloni and Enrico Letta). It is also: the regional secretaries, the provincial secretaries, the secretaries of the federations abroad, of the metropolitan and regional cities, the Spokesperson of the National Women’s Conference, the PD coordinators of the foreign divisions, the secretary of the Young Democrats; one hundred deputies, senators and MEPs belonging to the party indicated by the respective Groups, the mayors of metropolitan cities, provincial and regional capitals and registered regional presidents currently in office. In total 960 members. The secretary’s report is on the agenda. The Dems are awaiting indications on the next steps to take in view of the vote: from the program to the coalition primaries.

The modification of Article 8 and the extension of the mandate

The culmination of the day will be the modification to article 8 of the National Statute of the party which regulates the duration of the mandates of the National Secretary and the National Assembly: the mandates of the National Secretary of the Party and of each member of the National Assembly last four years at the end of which the President of the National Assembly announces the procedures for the renewal of the positions upon expiry of the term. Schlein’s term expires in March 2027, just before the general election. The Democratic Party would find itself in the position of not having a leader in the midst of the electoral race. An absolute first, given that no secretary before Schlein had managed to complete an entire mandate. Hence the need to modify the article to provide for an extension of the mandate and allow the secretary to participate in the primaries, first, and possibly challenge Meloni as leader of the coalition. Within article 8, paragraph 3 has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks, especially on the initiative of the PD reformists. This is the step that assigns the secretary alone the role of candidate in the coalition primaries and at the helm of the government. The reformists put forward proposals, including during the assembly held at the beginning of the month in Prato, for a second candidacy to be envisaged. The other request is that the coalition primaries include a double round which would have allowed a second candidate – the name of Giorgio Gori was given – to run in the first round and converge on the secretary’s candidacy in the second round. In this way, and the reasoning of the Dem minority, it would have been possible to broaden the consensus for Schlein also among moderate voters. Yesterday, the reformist area held a meeting from which emerged the desire not to go to battle in the assembly. As long as there is a path of comparison, it is reported, and that the majority does not proceed by force. Otherwise, the reformists will make their voices heard, it is added. According to what we learn, discussions are underway at this time and the hypothesis is that an orderly management of the meeting could be achieved. The reformists will intervene, in any case, above all to keep the issue of Ukraine and Europe high, in terms of support for Kiev – even with the supply of weapons – and greater political integration of the European Union. If we talk about “Unity”, it is the reasoning of the internal minority, let’s start with the assembly.