Schlein, speaking at the PD leadership meeting, responds to her allies: “Those with one more vote lead: this is not hegemony but democracy. One person does not equal one.”

“This leadership meeting comes at a decisive juncture for the PD, for the centre-left and for the country.” These were the words of Elly Schlein, the PD’s secretary, as she opened her speech at today’s party leadership meeting, convened at the Nazareno. The speech lasted over an hour and will be followed by a closed-door discussion. The coming months will be a turning point for the broad coalition and, as the secretary added, “we must face them with a sense of responsibility and with the unity we have built together, which is our greatest strength”. For this reason, during her speech, Elly responded to “various fanciful accounts” that have emerged in recent days: “We are ready. We can set out straight away. As long as we’re all on board, and as long as we don’t set off on our own.” The remark was clearly aimed at Giuseppe Conte, Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni, who for several hours have been “pressing” the PD to begin drafting the programme.

“Let me explain,” said Schlein: “The programme needs to be refined together with the entire progressive alliance that is already governing jointly at local level. This is what I proposed to our allies in November last year, 2025, following the regional elections. Understandably, there are those who announced their own process, which only concluded in September this year,” she said, referring to Nova, the founding event of the Five Star Movement. “We’ll still be there tomorrow, but for us, public involvement and participation are non-negotiable.”

Schlein then continued, driving home her point: “The programme is drawn up in alliance with others, in the full knowledge that in that discussion we must be inclusive, but also that no one person is worth more than another,” she said, raising her voice and quoting the oldest slogan of the Five Star Movement from its earliest days. She then asserts her leadership of the broad coalition: "Nobody has handed us anything on a plate; if we are firmly the leading opposition party, it is because we have earned it through hard work, sweat and dedication to convincing people one by one – and they have given us twice as many votes as the other political forces in the European, regional and local elections." And then: "We are generous but not naive." Therefore: "The principle that the party which secures one more vote should lead is not hegemony; it is democracy. If there are those who do not recognise this democratic principle, we will hold primaries; we will hold them and we will win them together, whilst ensuring that we represent everyone. We are not afraid of the vote or of democracy. Both the agreement that the party with one more vote should lead and the primaries are based on popular legitimacy."

During her speech, the secretary also touches on the most divisive issue for the broad coalition: foreign policy. Here she explains: “There is a great deal of debate, but here too I would reiterate that there is far more that has united us with the other opposition forces than that which still divides us; we will tackle these issues, we will discuss them, and I am confident we will find a high-level consensus.” The same applies to Ukraine: “We have always supported, and will continue to support, the Ukrainian people against Russia’s criminal aggression, and we know that the EU must make its commitment clearer and take the initiative that has so far been lacking. To build peace, we cannot wait for the last gun to fall silent. The EU must appoint a European negotiator. I am confident that we will find a compromise that is up to the task.”

The secretary concludes her speech on a defiant note: “I’m getting a few things off my chest.” She explains: “They’d bet that we’d collapse, and here we are. They’d bet that I wouldn’t last six months, yet for the first time a national secretary is seeing out her term of office. We’ll see each other at the National Assembly on 18 October; I think that’s good news!”, she says regarding the extension. She continues: “That there is a section of the establishment that doesn’t want a progressive government is nothing new – it’s the history of this country. That there are those who simply cannot tolerate the very idea of a left-wing figure in Palazzo Chigi is no surprise; this time, we’ll be the surprise.”