Politics
CAMPO LARGO •
The secretary of the Gd wants to “organise the deserters”. Gori: “That’s not what the young people of the Resistance did”
Virginia Libero calls for a crackdown on military spending. Democratic Party reformists are furious. The former mayor of Bergamo distances himself from the stance, whilst Arturo Parisi calls out Schlein, and Calenda quips: “Now and forever, resistance”. What happens if young Democrats speak out on Ukraine in the same way as Conte?
(Photo: Ansa)
“We will not be the soldiers in your wars. If these right-wingers lead us into an actual armed conflict, you go and fight it. Because we will organise the deserters.” All that was missing was the Giovani Democratici, the PD’s youth organisation, to reignite the debate within the broader coalition, but above all within the PD itself. The words of secretary Virginia Libero have raised considerable doubts within the Democratic Party community, particularly amongst the reformist wing. These are the same concerns that have been sparked in recent days by the comments on Ukraine made by the leader of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte. Many in the Democratic Party have listened to the secretary of the Giovani Democratici and found no difference between her remarks and the Five Star Movement leader’s anti-Kyiv tirades.
Giorgio Gori, former mayor of Bergamo and now a Democratic Party MEP, commented on his X profile on Virginia Libero’s words: “That is not what the young people who chose to join the Resistance did, nor the young Americans who came here to fight (and many of whom died) to liberate us from the Nazi-Fascists – and whom we rightly celebrate every 25 April.”
Also speaking on X was Arturo Parisi, a former minister in the Prodi government and one of the founders of the Democratic Party, who linked Virginia Libero’s remarks to those of the national secretary. From the same podium, Schlein had in fact praised the “unifying effort” of the Young Democrats, describing it as “an example even for the grown-ups”.
Carlo Calenda was also ironic, initially commenting, ‘Now and always, resistance’, before taking the matter to the Senate during his speech explaining his vote on the electoral law. He attacked Conte and the centre-left before returning to the subject of Reggio Emilia: ‘We are seeing astonishing things in my former party. I saw the secretary of the Young Democrats calling for the organisation of desertions. From ‘now and always resistance’ to ‘now and always defiance’ – the left has evolved on this. Is this how you intend to govern the country? Are you sure?”