Sandra Zampa: "Postpone the congress? Schlein shouldn’t take it for granted that everyone’s happy with that." Doubts about the future

“Apart from the tight deadlines, of which we are well aware, Elly Schlein is wrong to assume that everyone is happy with this situation simply because she has a majority,” warns Sandra Zampa. The senator, who has always been close to Romano Prodi, speaks of the PD Assembly and the amendment to the party constitution that will postpone the party congress until after the elections, thereby extending the secretary’s term of office, which is due to expire in March. She raises concerns regarding both procedure and substance. “I am saddened,” she tells Il Foglio on the eve of the Democratic Party assembly, “that it will not be easy.” She also has criticism for the party leadership, from Stefano Bonaccini to Francesco Boccia. It is this discontent that is prompting the PD representative, a reformist by conviction, to question her own future as well. Will she stand as a candidate for the PD again? “I’ve served two terms and, for various reasons, I’m one of the few who doesn’t need any special dispensation. But when you stand for election, you have to be convinced that your work is still worthwhile. And that the community around you recognises the quality of that contribution.” Speaking to Il Foglio, Zampa sets out all her reservations about the PD leadership. These have intensified at this stage: her discontent, after all, is shared by many other colleagues in the Democratic Party minority. “The party feels like a barracks, not a political community.” So, on the eve of the Assembly, she presses on: “I’m curious to see what the secretary’s proposal will be, if there is one. Because it’s not clear what it is. Let me give you an example.” Please: “There has been no debate on our programme, no national discussion about the Italy we want to build with our voters’ support. I’ve heard words that haven’t been backed up by action.”

This may well be discussed tomorrow at La Nuvola. The more than 900 delegates will certainly be asked to approve an amendment to the party constitution to postpone the party conference. “Whilst we may agree that this is not the right time to change the secretary, with the elections approaching, I nevertheless think it is necessary to discuss how to proceed and how we intend to tackle the election campaign.” Before that, however, there could be a leadership contest. “And it would be very much in our interest to have a second candidate.” At the Nazareno, there are fears that the path suggested by the reformists could weaken Schlein in the contest against Conte; Zampa, however, takes a different view: “We could attract voters both within and outside the PD – those who do not identify with this narrow framework that the party is now defining.” And besides, the PD representative adds, “I believe it is wrong for the primaries to be a contest between two parties rather than between several candidates, within a framework of shared values that is still not in sight. The stance on Ukraine, for example, is not just about the issue of war.” What do you mean? “It is a matter of clarifying how we intend to support the peoples and countries that are resisting the unilateral wars waged against them.”

On several occasions during this interview, Zampa emphasises the need to broaden our appeal. He does so by recalling the experience of the Ulivo coalition, with a dig: “A few days ago, Schlein said that we hadn’t won an election in 20 years. That’s not true; in fact, the exact opposite is true: we only won with a man called Prodi, by presenting ourselves as part of a very broad alliance that was genuinely capable of speaking to sections of society that previously did not identify with the centre-left and did not trust it”. Today’s broad coalition, however, has not yet defined its scope. “I think all the leaders should sit down at the table – all the parties, including Matteo Renzi. Imposing vetoes is politically short-sighted.” Moreover: “While it is true that today it is Carlo Calenda who has made other choices, a serious dialogue should also have been initiated with the leader of Azione. With him and with those who stand outside and around us. I am saddened because I have seen the whole culture of democracy that set us apart slip away. I’m sorry to say it, but the PD has become unrecognisable.” These are issues that Zampa, she explains, has raised repeatedly with the PD leadership. “But you’re told that you don’t have a majority.” Schlein’s majority has grown and consolidated over time. “Having a landslide majority doesn’t mean, however, that there’s nothing to discuss. Not least because I voted for Bonaccini in the primaries, and then he turned out just like Schlein. In exchange for what? I haven’t understood it, because today democracy within the PD has diminished, not increased.” Zampa also refers to Boccia’s comments on the reformists, as reported by Il Fatto: “If they want to put themselves to the test through the ballot, perhaps they can stand as candidates.” The senator did not take kindly to them. “I can’t believe he said something like that. A group leader,” she concludes, “cannot fail to show respect for all members of the community they are called upon to represent, and this would certainly not be in keeping with the culture that characterised the PD’s finest hours.”