Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "The program is written with the alliance, knowing full well that in that discussion we must be inclusive, but also that no two parties are the same. No one has handed us anything; if we are firmly the leading opposition party, it's because we earned it with hard work, sweat, and commitment to convincing people one by one, which gave us double the votes of other political forces in the European, regional, and municipal elections."
Thus said Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein to the Democratic Party leadership.
"I just want to ask a question: if we had remained in January 2023, with the Democratic Party at 14% in the polls, thus the second largest opposition force, do you think we would have had the same debate today? I don't think so. Generous, yes," she points out, "but naive, no. And I'd like to be even clearer.
In any other European country there wouldn't have been this discussion because it's normal for the party that gets one more vote to lead: it's not hegemony, it's democracy."
So "first the common program, then the leadership because whoever leads must lead the entire alliance, not just his own party."
“Today the coalition exists, we are capable of defeating the right and barriers and mistrust have been overcome.
We have proven wrong those who were skeptical of the work of stitching together and dialogue. The journey is not entirely complete, but the alternative is already concrete and at work,” Schlein continues.
And again: "Since I've been reading fanciful accounts of this for days, I'd like to clarify one point: we're ready, we can leave right now. As long as we're all here, and as long as we don't leave alone."
"Let me explain: the program must be refined together with the entire progressive alliance that already governs in the local communities, with all those who want to help build the alternative," he added. "And for us, it is essential that this process, as I have consistently said in recent months, not be conducted within the confines of party circles, but rather be undertaken among the people, engaging with the third sector, the manufacturing sector, and trade unions."
"I proposed to our allies in November 2025, after the regional elections, a major consultation process undertaken together across the country. Some people legitimately announced their own process, which only concluded in September of this year. We did ours in February, to be ready the day after the referendum, when I urged our allies not to squander that huge popular mobilization, the leadership of the new generations of civil society who had mobilized for the referendum to engage those voters who, while 15 million voted our way, had not voted for us just two years earlier in the European elections," he explains.
The Democrat continued: "As I've always said, if there's anyone who doesn't recognize this democratic principle," namely that the prime ministerial candidate is the leader of the largest party, "we are available and ready for primaries, and if we hold them, we'll win them together."
We will win them together, taking great care to represent everyone and those different sensibilities that are normal among political forces that are allies. We are not afraid of the vote, nor are we afraid of democracy, and we are nominating an entire ruling class with the skills and passion to make change, and who knows how to do it. Now I am asking you for the mandate to bring the Democratic Party's proposals to the alliance's platform in that discussion.
"Now we must refine the common program so that it is a binding pact for all, a pact we make first and foremost with the country, with the Italians," he adds. "We're not starting from scratch; we're building on the many proposals we've supported together over the years, on labor and industrial policy, on healthcare and education, on security and rights," he says.
"On foreign policy, what unites us is more important than what divides us, and we will discuss it, and I'm sure we'll find a high-level consensus. Of course, there are different and decisive points of view, but if that weren't the case, we'd be one party," Schlein assures.
"They're afraid of losing because we're the newcomer; there's a united alliance that can defeat the right. It's a flawed law that we'll continue to fight against," he then says about the electoral law.
Giorgia Meloni's only priority is the electoral law. The majority is trying to tailor its own rules by pledging confidence votes. She, the very person who said the electoral law was a parliamentary matter, is now asking for a vote of confidence, which doesn't exist if it's true that there were five colonels standing around waiting to see where the finger would go.
"It was just yesterday's news that inflation has reached 4,2% and is literally eating away at Italians' wages. So, since Giorgia Meloni recently asked me to tell her something true, I'm telling her 10 with numbers in hand because numbers are stubborn and I'm not left-wing," Elly Schlein then attacks.
"You said you would lower taxes, we're at a record high in the last 12 years," he adds. "We have some of the lowest salaries in Europe and the most expensive wholesale energy costs in Europe. Try denying this. Nearly 6 million people live in absolute poverty—nearly one in 10, or more than one in 10. This means that 1.300.000 children and young people are in need of treatment. Nearly 6 million Italians forgo treatment because the waiting lists are too long or because they can't afford it."
"In 2025, 355.000 children were born, the lowest number since the post-war period. This is how Italy finds itself after four years of government. The right has focused on the birth rate with a lot of rhetoric and very little policy, yet the data is clear. It's not a lack of values that's holding back births, it's job insecurity, which particularly affects women and young people, especially in the south of this country: low incomes, difficulty in accessing housing, a lack of daycare services, and the penalization of mothers at work. When stability turns into immobility, it means the chickens come home to roost. These are the chickens. Higher taxes, more debt, skyrocketing costs of living, low wages, and no growth—this is the legacy they're leaving," says the Democratic Party leader.
“Acknowledge that you have failed and go home. The sooner we vote, the better it will be for Italy,” Schlein then said, addressing Giorgia Meloni.
"If stability means immobility, the country isn't benefiting. You can stay in Palazzo Chigi for a long time while the country remains stagnant, which is what Meloni did," he continues, adding: "Think about the historic opportunity Giorgia Meloni squandered. With those numbers, with that majority, everything could have changed, bold reforms could have been implemented, and they managed to do nothing that would have improved the lives of Italians."
"Propaganda and victimhood cannot erase the impact of the right's continued leadership of the country. This is a clear failure that stems primarily from the arrogance and wastefulness of an overbearing ruling class held together not by a vision for Italy, but by a power pact," he says.
"We are at a decisive juncture for our party, our community, and the entire center-left. We have months ahead of us that will decide the future of Italy and Europe, and we must face them with a sense of responsibility, seriousness, and the unity that has been our greatest strength," he then said, speaking of the Democrats.
policy
webinfo@adnkronos.com (Web Info)