The Democrats are celebrating Spain’s victory, with an eye on Italians abroad

The day before yesterday, the chat groups of MPs and Democratic Party leaders appeared to be abuzz. Everyone was cheering on Pedro Sánchez’s Spain against Milei’s Argentina – Milei being a friend of Donald Trump. After Spain’s victory, the Democrats’ jubilation reached fever pitch. The chat was abuzz with memes mocking the US President. But at one point, a few MPs – not exactly spring chickens – urged the younger members not to publicise their enthusiasm too much, citing a rather prosaic reason. Namely, that Argentina is of vital importance when it comes to the votes of Italians abroad, so it would be best to avoid incurring the wrath of Messi’s supporters.

The issue of security will inevitably be at the heart of the election campaign. Within the Democratic Party, the centre-left’s stance over the last few days has only strengthened this conviction. This has led some members of the Democratic Party to believe that countermeasures are necessary, as the centre-left has always seemed to have credibility issues when it comes to security.

This is why Franco Gabrielli’s name has resurfaced as a possible candidate for Prime Minister for the progressive alliance. As a former Chief of Police, Gabrielli is, in fact, well-qualified to address security issues with credibility and to counter the right-wing campaign on this front. Not only that: Gabrielli’s candidacy would resolve the issue of the rivalry between Elly Schlein and Giuseppe Conte for the top job at Palazzo Chigi. Many members of the Democratic Party, in fact, are concerned that the ongoing standoff between the Democratic Party’s secretary and the leader of the Five Star Movement is counterproductive for the centre-left. And they would like to bypass the primaries. But Schlein has now put all her reservations aside and wants a vote at the polling stations, given that her rival refuses to accept that the leader of the party that wins the most votes should become Prime Minister.

And on the subject of the rivalry between Elly Schlein and Giuseppe Conte, it must be said that the leader of the Five Star Movement has already made it clear that he has no intention of backing down from his campaign against military support for Ukraine. And this poses quite a problem for the secretary of the Democratic Party. Because whilst one might turn a blind eye on one occasion (in Naples), it is difficult to maintain this stance indefinitely. And everyone in the PD is worried…

This time, on the subject of the Democratic Party (PD), Matteo Orfini’s faction – which we mentioned in our last column – is growing. Enzo Amendola has joined, as have all the former Zingaretti supporters. And this is a problem, because Elly Schlein will soon be faced with an increasing number of PD heavyweights demanding places on the electoral list for ‘their own people’. The secretary of the Democratic Party has already decided that in Parliament, in addition to her staunchest supporters (those who are already in Parliament and those – and there are quite a few – who are not yet there), she wants to reserve some places, not least because in the next parliamentary term she will need parliamentary groups that do not cause her problems. But there are quite a few factions close to her who are asking to be represented in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. As well as her loyalists, Schlein is backed by Stefano Bonaccini’s Energia Popolare, the Montepulciano faction (the group that Dario Franceschini has left to others to manage) and now also representatives of the Orfini faction…