The Italian left settles its umpteenth re-foundation this Sunday with primaries to elect the new secretary general of the Democratic Party (PD), the social democratic formation that brought together the heirs of the Christian Democracy and the Communist Party that today, mutilated by electoral defeats and divisions internal, is in low hours. All residents of Italy over the age of 16 will be able to go to the different polling stations throughout the country to decide if they want the PD to be led by Stefano Bonaccini, the veteran president of the Emilia-Romagna region, or by the young Elly Schlein, representative of the most left wing of the formation. One of the two will since then become the new head of the opposition to the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, replacing Enrico Letta, who resigned after losing the early elections in September.
Bonaccini and Schlein will face each other after winning the first ballot, only for party members, and discarding the other candidates, Gianni Cuperlo and Paola De Micheli. Bonaccini starts as the favorite after obtaining 52.8% of the votes of the militants, while Schlein was second with 34.8%. They both know each other very well. Until last year, Schlein, a 37-year-old former MEP who has been compared to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was Bonaccini's deputy in Emilia-Romagna.
They represent, however, two completely different visions. Bonaccini, president of the region – a leftist stronghold – since 2014, is a classic political figure of the Italian left. He began hand in hand with federations of communist youth and little by little he learned to move into the power wars in the PD. He first supported Pier Luigi Bersani and then, when he became leader, Matteo Renzi, who commissioned him to be a candidate for the regional elections five years ago. At 56, he enjoys a reputation as a good manager, but above all as a pragmatist. He is already reaching out to the other progressive forces, the 5 Star Movement (M5E) and the Third Pole of Matteo Renzi and Carlo Calenda to present a common battle in defense of public health and a minimum wage.
Bonaccini's main problem is that, for many, it is more of the same in a party criticized for being too attached to power. “It's dead boring and a little tacky. He surely is a good man, but he seems to me a funeral director, ”the photographer Oliviero Toscani criticized him this week. The rupture card is played by Schlein, who could come as a surprise if for the first time the vote of the voters does not coincide with that of the militants. She is the outsider, since in 2015 she left the PD due to ideological disagreements, and she returned in 2022 to be elected deputy.
Feminist, environmentalist and champion of the rights of the LGTB collective, Schlein presents herself as the antithesis of Giorgia Meloni and during her electoral campaign she has emphasized the message that the far-right is a "feminine, but not feminist" leader. Her name began to gain strength at the beginning of 2020, when her contribution was essential to prevent the right from entering Emilia-Romagna. With an Italian mother and an American father, with Jewish origins, she defends the turn to the left in a party that over the years has gradually distanced itself from the working classes – who prefer the extreme right or the M5E – and gains followers among the metropolitan elites.
Schlein could be the first woman to head a PD too many times accused of being sexist and in these primaries she has promised that she will not be Bonaccini's number two again because "the time of a patriarchal party has ended." Internal sources say that, despite the fact that it would be normal for her to win Bonaccini, there could still be surprises. "The party is very open", indicates a leader, and recalls the strength of Schlein in cities like Rome or Milan. The philosophies are clear: if Bonaccini intends to recover the vote of the center, Schlein wants to put an end to the flight of votes that have gone to the grillini.
On the Italian right they will closely follow tonight's result, but without too much concern. According to the latest La Repubblica poll, popular support for the prime minister is running at full speed and, while the right-wing coalition continues to grow in the polls, Meloni enjoys a 56% approval rating.
