A-Infos (en) Italy, UCADI, #210 - Elly Schlein and the cleaning at the PD house (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Since March 12, 2023, when she was elected secretary of the Democratic 
Party, Elly Schlein has been tackling the problem of how to cleanse the 
party of the debris that had accumulated since its founding and had 
grown exponentially under Renzi's leadership. Renzi had brought on board 
the dregs of opportunism from the "TL zones" who remained in the party 
to secure re-election . Schlein understood that this was a matter of 
life and death, since the "reformist current" that comprised the 
majority of them was responsible for the periodic upheavals that had 
weakened the party secretaries and contributed to the instability of the 
political secretariat. A direct clash with this element, so powerful and 
deeply rooted in the bureaucratic structure and administrations, would 
certainly have resulted in the secretariat's no-confidence vote at the 
first opportunity. Since then, the alliance-or perhaps it would be 
better to say, the Coexistence Pact-with Stefano Bonaccini, the leading 
figure of the PD's administrators, has been irremovable.
Exploiting the rule of rotation in positions and candidacies, the 
Schlein secretariat has slowly and prudently put forward a number of 
candidates for the European Parliament, relegating the survivors, even 
if elected to Parliament, to a less media-heavy role, and presenting 
this strategy as a fight against the party's bosses. Thus, a number of 
figures have ended up in the elephant graveyard of the European 
Parliament, hoping that there they could do less damage, while others, 
even parliamentarians like Guelmini, have faded into oblivion and obscurity.
This was only a partially correct calculation, as many of them joined 
tried-and-true political-business lobbies, only to be caught red-handed, 
as happened with the Qatar-gate investigation. Others, more astute, 
chose the ultra-Atlanticism of the European Commission to vent all the 
rottenness within them. They distinguished themselves by their illiberal 
and servile positions, which resulted in unreserved support for Ukraine 
and even stronger support for Israel, promoting the adoption of 
sanctions against Russia, but blocking the adoption of any sanctions 
against Israel. The standard-bearer of this group is Pina Picierno, 
supported by Gori and many other lesser-known but no less disgusting 
individuals.
The Secretary's strategy toward these individuals was to let them do 
their thing and keep quiet, waiting for their illiberal initiatives, 
their anti-Russian and anti-Palestinian hatred, to manifest themselves 
in every way and on every occasion, discrediting and, above all, 
alienating and isolating them from the voters, or at least the majority 
of those who had voted for them. The scoundrel positions adopted by 
these individuals, the projection of their activities, aimed at 
demonstrating to the lobbies that sponsor them that they were 
effectively fulfilling the mandate they had received and the role they 
had assumed, that they were subservient, have materialized in supporting 
the Commission's thefts and in providing support to the thieves in Kiev 
who have skimmed off the funding granted to Ukraine, covering up their 
misdeeds and capitalizing on the profits.
As time passed, their position became increasingly weakened, to the 
point that, as the end of the Italian legislative term approached and 
the Schlein leadership consolidated, demonstrating its ability to build 
electoral alliances and, above all, promising not to contest the next 
elections in a disorganized manner, many of them decided to voluntarily 
leave the party, seeing their room for maneuver shrink.
Within the party, their political space shrank as the local alliances 
among left-wing parties worked, leading to substantial successes in 
local elections, demonstrating that an alternative was possible and that 
Letta's atrocities would not be repeated.

The Democratic Party's line and international politics

Looking at the party's political line, we can recognize Schlein's 
ability to reach electoral agreement with the Five Star Movement and the 
Left/Greens on crucial domestic policy issues, ranging from the minimum 
wage to a different wage policy, to a radical reform of income taxation, 
adopting fairer rates, to interventions for healthcare and education, 
increasingly in need of funding, to financial support for the most 
vulnerable groups and an industrial plan for businesses, to the repeal 
of the Meloni government's emergency decree, which has undermined our 
criminal justice system and curtailed civil liberties. But at the same 
time, we can see unacceptable positions on foreign policy, particularly 
regarding Ukraine and the Middle East.
Support for the Palestinian cause has been evident in the form of 
participation in the massive demonstrations in favor of Gaza and the 
Palestinians, but the position taken on sanctions against Israel has not 
been as decisive. These sanctions were loudly called for in all forums, 
from the European Parliament to the Italian Parliament, but have 
ultimately resulted in failure, given the positions maintained by the 
Italian government on the Palestinian issue, the continued arms trade, 
and the persistence of economic and financial relations with the State 
of Israel. Relations with Israel remain extremely tense in the area of 
intelligence, characterized by the acquisition of spy systems for 
monitoring political opponents and ordinary citizens; the party's action 
within the EU has been ineffective.
But where things really don't add up is in relation to the position 
taken on Ukraine, for which Schlein continues to express solidarity and 
support, the shipment of weapons and funding, even as she attempts to 
soften her position, advocating for the opening of negotiations leading 
to an end to the war, which are currently unrealistic. The instrumental 
nature of this position, aimed at preventing the United States from 
barring her access to Palazzo Chigi in the event of an election victory, 
is entirely obvious to anyone. If the Democratic Party secretary makes 
this choice, hoping to thereby overcome the US veto and enter 
government, she is deluding herself, because Trump considers her, as she 
remains, a supporter of the hated American Democrats, and not of their 
socialist wing, but rather very close to the progressive wing of Obama 
and Harris. Her apparent closeness to Bernie Sanders is more of a facade 
than an endorsement of the radical nature of his social agenda for the US.
What Schlein seems to have failed to grasp, in our opinion, is the 
agenda being pursued in the current Italian situation by some circles 
familiar to her, identifiable within the mainstream with ties to the 
United States: Mario Monti, Mario Draghi, Gentiloni, Letta, and many 
other now obsolete tools of Italian politics (no, not Calenda, he's too 
stupid and insignificant).
These people are working toward a substantial electoral draw, forcing 
the formation of a technical government of national unity, or at least 
one supported by a broad coalition, in order to contain the momentum 
coming from the political alliance Schlein is trying to build, leaving 
Vannacci out to allow him to grow as an opposition to manage a further 
rightward shift in the country's political axis. To achieve this, the 
complicity of the President of the Republic is needed. By doing so, the 
country's "democratic balance" would be preserved, which would allow 
Parliament to force the election of a President of the Republic as a 
guarantor, ensuring the maintenance of democratic institutions from a 
formal standpoint but guaranteeing a further shift of the political axis 
to the right. The most likely names are Mario Monti and Mario Draghi.

A new scenario has opened up

Looking at everything that is happening in international politics, this 
is the moment when space seems to be opening up, making it time to be 
bold and fight for the country's new position in international politics. 
The strategy we have attempted to explain is the result of a thoughtful 
analysis of the factors at play, but it fails to take into account that 
Trump's instability is creating a structural crisis within NATO, which 
would be further exacerbated by a Ukrainian defeat on the battlefield, 
which is highly likely, even if we don't know the timing. This would 
lead to a profound crisis for the European Union, further accentuated if 
the suicidal decision to allow Ukraine to join the EU were to be made.
The opportunities that would open up would overcome the iron grip the US 
hegemon exerts on its vassals scattered across Europe, and this could 
offer the opportunity to push Italy toward a position of neutrality 
directly linked to the expulsion of US forces present in our country. 
This prospect is more realistic than it seems at first glance, and 
perhaps it would be wise to seize the opportunity to explore this path, 
which is the only one capable of giving the country the impetus, even in 
terms of ideas, it needs to overcome the current crisis of stagnation 
and sweep away in one fell swoop the right-wing grip on power in Italy 
and the economic recession afflicting it, saving itself from involvement 
in a war in Europe that seems to be rapidly approaching.
However benevolently one might evaluate Schlein's performance, her 
political structure does not seem sufficient to support such a strategic 
project. This is because she does not possess, or at least has not 
demonstrated, the necessary qualities of a statesman. Nor is she 
surrounded by a trained and efficient political staff capable of 
implementing the strategy just described. For this reason, it will be a 
miracle for her to escape the traps that a skilled politician like 
Meloni will place in her path, and it will be a feat to manage and 
govern her relationships with her partners in a political camp that 
appears to be marked by significant personalism and a lack of strategic 
clarity. The so-called broad camp, if she wins the elections, will be 
lost behind a narrow-minded policy that unfortunately will have no 
impact on the country's fate or the true and profound reasons for the 
Italian crisis.

The Editorial Staff

https://www.ucadi.org/2026/07/23/elly-schlein-e-le-pulizie-in-casa-pd/
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