Schlein is throwing caution to the wind and wants a showdown with Meloni

Elly Schlein is confident. She has taken the bull by the horns and thrown her hat into the ring to lead the coalition and the government, should the centre-left win, and is already planning her next moves. Not just the immediate ones – such as drawing up a coalition programme and organising the primaries – but the secretary of the Democratic Party is looking further ahead. She is already thinking about how to proceed should she walk through the doors of Palazzo Chigi.

The leader of the PD – who, as her opponents both within and outside the party are well aware, is anything but naive or inexperienced – is weighing up her options well in advance. Whatever emerges, if anything does, will be a coalition government, with all the difficulties and delays that such an arrangement entails; therefore, the PD secretary intends to centralise the most important decisions at Palazzo Chigi. This is somewhat similar to what the current Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has done and is continuing to do. But to succeed in her aim, Schlein knows that at Palazzo Chigi she needs reliable colleagues who are closely aligned with her. For this reason, she would like to have by her side, in that building, the head of organisation Igor Taruffi, the head of her secretariat Marta Bonafoni, the spokesperson Flavio Alivernini and her inseparable Gaspare Righi. The leader of the Democratic Party is convinced that in this way she will be able to govern a coalition – which harbours diverse sensibilities and ambitions within its ranks – as effectively as possible.

Although the primaries are not expected to take place in the very near future – as was clear from the words of Elly Schlein herself, who played for time at the National Assembly – the trend is towards a single-round contest: the PD secretary against the leader of the Five Star Movement, and that’s the end of the story.

To avoid getting bogged down over Ukraine, centre-left leaders are now inclined to address the issue of Ukraine in a very vague manner in their election manifesto. Just a passing reference to support, an emphasis on the need for a new European diplomatic offensive, and a call for a single EU negotiator. It is best to avoid going into too much detail. In this way, each party will be able to interpret that passage according to its own line and sensibilities. The unspoken hope of the leaders of the broad coalition is that, somehow, a ceasefire will be reached before the centre-left puts its manifesto down on paper; but if this is not to be the case, it is better to remain vague and hope that, at least by the time the election campaign gets underway, the war will have ended.

From now on, Elly Schlein will step up her attacks on Giorgia Meloni. The PD secretary wants to set the tone for an ‘it’s me against her’ election campaign right from the start, and those at Palazzo Chigi do not seem at all opposed to this approach. Obviously, Giuseppe Conte is not convinced by this, nor is he at all pleased; indeed, a few days ago he made it clear that the Prime Minister does not want him as a rival because she considers him too dangerous. Indeed, the prospect of a Schlein-Meloni showdown risks penalising the former Prime Minister and the Movement.