The PD’s programme, exclusively

The elections are drawing near; we know that. The search for an alternative is becoming urgent; we can see that. And whilst we wait to see how the centre-left will define the scope of its coalition, how the prime ministerial candidate will be chosen, and when it will draft the joint programme to unite its allies, there is a mysterious question to which we have attempted to provide an answer. The issue concerns the Democratic Party – the most important party in the centre-left coalition – and it centres on a question that has remained unanswered to date: does the PD, which dreams of leading the country, is preparing to organise primaries, and is working to draft a coalition programme, actually have a programme of its own or not?

To be precise, the M5S presented its manifesto in September. After much hesitation, the coalition promised to draw up its own manifesto by November. But there is no sign of the PD’s manifesto and very little interest in it. We therefore asked the PD secretariat whether the manifesto exists or not, and whether it will ever be published, and the PD kindly informed us that the manifesto already exists and corresponds to the speech given by Elly Schlein at the PD’s most recent Executive Committee meeting on 2 October. The video of Schlein’s speech is long – seventy minutes – making it difficult to condense into an election leaflet. We therefore attempted to transcribe it in full. We ended up with a document of 65,000 characters, including spaces.

So we set to work, aided by our Foglio AI, to do what no one had done before: take Schlein’s speech seriously, take seriously the idea that the PD’s manifesto is her manifesto, and note down all the proposals that emerged on that occasion. The fact that locating the PD’s manifesto (26,000 characters) requires rolling up one’s sleeves and getting stuck in is symptomatic of an issue concerning Elly Schlein’s PD, which, by fighting so hard against personality-driven politics, has built a party so devoid of personality that its sole manifesto is the face of Elly Schlein herself.

‘I am the programme’ is the message from the PD secretary. The PD’s sole candidate, as decided by the National Assembly, is the secretary herself. And the PD’s programme, after all, is so unimportant – and that is why it is kept so hidden – for one simple reason: talking about what the PD wants to do can be risky; it can be divisive. Whereas focusing on the figure of a leader – having them speak constantly on general issues without going into specifics – can help foster a special relationship with voters. Thanks to this, in the absence of a clear message, every voter might imagine that the PD secretary could one day say exactly what they personally wish to hear.

The PD’s manifesto, however, does exist; it is the one you’ll find on today’s page, and it is a manifesto that helps us understand something interesting. First of all, looking at the policy points, it becomes clear what had already emerged on Thursday 5 November in Rome, at the Teatro Brancaccio, during the meeting between the parties of the progressive camp and Maurizio Landini’s CGIL: Ukraine aside, the centre-left, at least on economic and social grounds, has little to argue about. The PD, like the M5S, wants a minimum wage, a reduction in working hours whilst maintaining the same pay, the fight against job insecurity, equal parental leave, the reinstatement of the ‘Opzione donna’ scheme, increased healthcare spending, higher taxes on windfall profits, a more progressive tax system, measures against short-term lettings, the revitalisation of social housing, the repeal of the Bossi-Fini law, opposition to the Strait Bridge, equal marriage, end-of-life legislation, and the recognition of Palestine. And, like the M5S, it opposes the target of allocating 5 per cent of GDP to defence and security, as required by NATO commitments.

It does not present a comprehensive strategy to tackle irregular immigration and ensure effective repatriation. It has no intention of placing due process at the heart of its programme. It does not propose a comprehensive reform to increase productivity and open up protected sectors to competition. It has no intention of addressing the issue of nuclear power, even though this accounts for around a fifth of electricity generation in Spain, the country Schlein cites as a model. The problem with the PD’s manifesto, at least on economic and social grounds, is not so much its incompatibility with that of the M5S, but rather its excessive overlap. If there is one real issue, looking at the PD’s manifesto, it is that if the PD wants to lead the coalition – Ukraine aside – it is not clear what it offers that is different from Conte. The mystery of the PD’s manifesto is a mystery only up to a point. Schlein seems to have gambled on the fact that, to try to win the election, one does not necessarily need an original manifesto, nor does one need to surprise the electorate or take too many risks; rather, an algorithm will suffice: trying to do what Meloni did in 2022.

And so, minimise errors as we approach the finish line. Be as non-divisive as possible, with just a few months to go before the election. Focus on defending Ukraine, to demonstrate reliability, at least on one issue. Try to be perceived as everything and its opposite, where possible, capitalising on the fact that in the Republic’s recent history, the alternative in the end – whatever it may be – is always rewarded. The polls, at present, tell a different story; they suggest that the centre-left is competitive, slightly ahead in some surveys, and essentially neck-and-neck in others, but centre-left figures know that those polls are worth what they’re worth, because once a leader emerges – whether it be Conte or Schlein – that leader could drive away a section of the losing leader’s party’s electorate, not to mention what Meloni might gain during the election campaign if she faces a weak, timid leadership. The PD’s manifesto exists, but it is as if it did not, because the PD’s manifesto is called Elly Schlein. And if the centre-left, manifestos in hand, has a problem, the least of its problems is the compatibility of the manifestos.

The programme is there; it will go ahead; it won’t be a problem. The problem, perhaps, will be determining whether a coalition founded on the status quo – on the desire to defend what it has – will have the strength to create a new ‘referendum effect’, or whether, on the other hand, the weakness of its leadership could turn the forthcoming elections not into a referendum on who has governed, but on who is standing as the ‘alternative’. The programme is there, but it isn’t, and the fact that it isn’t, when you get right down to it, is a programme in itself.