Schlein’s “stamps”. She amends the statutes and issues calls for applications. In addition to Gori, she fears that Pacini could also pose a threat to her in the primaries.

Was Enrico Letta a fool, or is Elly Schlein playing the clever one? She is denying Giorgio Gori and Lorenzo Pacini – the fiery young man from Milan – the privilege that the former secretary granted her. She is demanding that the PD amend (for the second time) its constitution, its charter. The party executive is convening today (without an agenda) and Schlein is asking for an extension of her mandate, the ‘stamp of approval’, the fatwa against comrades who are thinking of standing in the coalition primaries. She sees nothing but her own name, but she is about to favour a third party: Silvia, the mayor of Genoa. It is Schlein who is rubbing salt into the wound (with Silvia Salis).

Why should another Democrat not be allowed to stand in the coalition primaries – where is that written? To paraphrase a much-overused phrase: the PD’s constitution is the finest in the world; it opens the door to hope. It is now well known that Giorgio Gori, the reformist within the PD, intends to stand in the primaries, provided they go ahead. Gori believes it would be a mistake to settle on a single candidate. There is no unanimity on his candidacy, not even amongst the reformists; it is just that the principle now prevails – a term that is widely abused on the left. Why not Gori? Why prevent him? The PD’s party constitution allows for multiple candidates, whilst it did not provide for a non-member, such as Schlein, to take part in the party’s primaries. What is a party’s constitution, if not its charter, its founding document? One might say that Schlein has no qualms about amending it, just as Meloni is attempting to do with the Constitution.

The difference is that Meloni has to contend with the referendum, whilst Schlein has to deal with the faction leaders who are demanding she set up a steering committee for the upcoming candidate nominations. Schlein is promising the party leaders: “Of course we’ll set up the committee, but first we have to win the primaries”. Needless to say, none of those party leaders trust her, especially given this ‘season in hell’ of hers, as Rimbaud would say. Party insiders say: if she wins, why should Schlein honour the agreements? She wants to take it all, including the guarantee that no one else can overshadow her. Everyone believes that her internal rival is Gori, and no one realises that Schlein fears the left wing to her left. In Milan, a young Democrat, Lorenzo Pacini, is making a name for himself; he’s more radical than Virginia Libero, a man who follows Mamdani’s lead and organises watermelon-eating events for Palestine – so much so that Milan has run out of watermelons. It is clear that neither Gori nor Pacini stand a chance of winning; they can only annoy the party leader. Gori does so from the right of the party, Pacini from the already crowded left. The list of left-wingers is so long, and the history of the primaries shows that people have competed for space on other occasions too. Hasn’t Schlein done the same?

The extension of the term of office will be handled by Bonaccini, the PD president who is also the faction leader. The next step will be the PD assembly, and it is notable that the membership lists will need to be updated. This is the second time the party constitution has been amended for Schlein’s sake. In truth, there has been a third. During the European elections, she had tried to have her name added to the party logo, but the party had opposed it. With all due respect, a secretary who demands an extension of her term of office (and who uses bureaucracy to obstruct her comrades) bears a striking resemblance to Giuseppe Conte, the ‘sidelined’ lawyer. Again, with all due respect, can a secretary who does not involve the party—who does not even communicate the agenda—impose changes to the rules just like any old Salvini? In this case, Schlein’s own adage applies. She, too, fails to see the new wave coming. In her race against Conte, she does not realise that the wind is blowing from Genoa. Within the PD, it is taken for granted that once the rules for the primaries have been set, Silvia Salis will stand as a candidate. Can Schlein perhaps include a ban on mayors in the party constitution? Whenever Schlein is asked about the manifesto, she automatically replies with ‘ChatGPT’: ‘The manifesto exists’. Whenever anyone dares to contradict her, she resorts to a culture of whingeing: the majority hates us, the minority is plotting against us. Anyone who does not want to vote for Meloni can only suffer at the sight of the PD with hands stained with ink from stamps, with Bonaccini in Calderoli’s place, acting as a notary. Finally, one truth remains: had Schlein been in Enrico Letta’s position, she would not be in her current role today.