“You are not Meloni”, chaos for the name in the symbol –

The Democratic Party explodes on the symbol. The news that Elly Schlein’s name will be in plain sight on the electoral logo of the Democratic Party that Italians will find on the ballot for the European elections arrives on the day in which the secretary announces her candidacy for the Center and the Islands. The case arose during the secretariat meeting before the management. According to various party sources, the issues to be resolved concern the placement of some exponents of the Bonaccini area, such as Lello Topo and Pina Picierno. But also the positioning of the Democratic president as leader. In the negotiations between the secretary’s inner circle and the Bonaccini area, the idea of ​​inserting Schlein’s name in the electoral symbol arises: a way, it is explained, to broaden the consensus of the Democratic Party and ‘lock down’ the secretary. The dem executive approves, although some members of the majority such as Marco Sarracino and Peppe Provenzano do not fail to raise more than a few doubts. Shortly therefollowing, Schlein appears at the board of directors to announce his candidacy. “I am also available to run and lend a hand on these lists, for a street-to-street campaign, trying to give a boost to this team.”

Sources close to the president of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, explain that the name on the logo – the only precedent in the PD is that of Walter Ventroni – belongs to Schlein as president of the PD. However, a portion of the minority dem turns up its nose and reads Bonaccini’s statement as proof of excessive closeness to the secretary and the majority that supports her. The reaction is immediate. Those once morest the idea, emerges from the debate, fear in particular an excessive personalization of the party and the electoral campaign. Furthermore, what is not convincing is the timing of the proposal: the discussion, underlined for example by Giuseppe Provenzano, should not have been opened today, but following the European elections and included in a broader work on the organization of the party and its model. A model which, for those who oppose the inclusion of Schlein’s name in the symbol, cannot be the leadership model seen in other parties. «Elly, you are not Giorgia Meloni, Matteo Salvini, you are not Tajani, you are not Renzi, Calenda. You are better than them and you come from a different culture”, underlined Gianni Cuperlo. Schlein’s leadership, for Cuperlo, “is more authoritative and strong without necessarily that choice.” Alfredo D’Attorre, head of University and Research of the Democratic Party and exponent of the former Article 1 area, rejects the idea of ​​a leadership party, but is open to the hypothesis of Schlein’s name in the symbol: «I am once morest in principle a leadership choice. But in this passage, inserting Schlein’s name into the symbol can serve to respond to that need for openness and change that we have not always been able to fully respond to this year. Let it not be a party model, but a tool to relaunch the constituent phase that we promised during the congress.”

The ranks of those once morest are swelling, also extending to Dario Franceschini’s area. The former minister himself, to those who approached him at the Nazarene, would have defined the logo with the secretary’s name as “a problem”. A long-time Democratic MP, then, recalls Veltroni’s precedent: it is true that the former secretary had put his name in the symbol, but – first of all – it was the Democratic Party’s debut in the elections and a bit of “advertising”. And – second point – they were political elections and in the dem statute it is foreseen that the secretary is automatically also the prime minister candidate. Among the voices in favor of Schlein stands that of Francesco Boccia, leader of the Democratic group in the Senate. But the blow from Romano Prodi is very heavy as he rejects the secretary’s choice to run from Naples: «What is happening really shows that no one is listening to me. Why do we have to give a vote to a person who, if he wins, certainly won’t go to Brussels? These are wounds of democracy.”