Invested by the leaders of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein has effectively put the seal on the desire to run to become prime minister. With a reasoning that, without mentioning Giuseppe Conte, was directed at Giuseppe Conte. “The Democratic Party is the first party, it is a fundamental pivot of this alliance”, recalled the secretary, and not out of privilege, but because it has “built that role in the field, round after round”. In short: getting more votes. When it comes to discussing the coalition leader, we will have to start from here. There were around two thousand people listening to her at the three-day event that brought together the majority PD currents in Montepulciano.
And the colonels: Andrea Orlando of the Dems, Dario Franceschini of AreaDem and Roberto Speranza of Articolo Uno. Rarely has Schlein’s Democratic Party seen such a vast and compact coalition. Never at the closing of the Unity celebrations, for example. But the wind is in our sails: the regional elections went as they should and the political challenge is now upon us. Schlein’s intervention was not entirely designed to appease the majority shareholders. On the contrary. In the meantime: “I will continue to be everyone’s secretary and to safeguard pluralism”, she said. Therefore, no public excommunication of the reformists, the minority of the party. And then, almost looking at the big names sitting in the front rows: “This party is strengthening itself and preparing to go into government, it will do so by winning the elections with a progressive alliance, not in other ways”.
Summary: no more large coalition governments, like Draghi’s, of which Orlando, Franceschini and Speranza were part. The Montepulciano meeting established a fact. The majority currents will team up and coordinate. They will not dissolve into a single entity, a real faction will not be born with a single leader, but they will move together. “I agree with those who say that we need to widen the majority – said the secretary – It has already widened, here there are people who made different choices at the last congress”, such as Anna Ascani, Dario Nardella, Debora Serracchiani. And maybe who knows: the secretary publicly thanked “the president Stefano Bonaccini”. At the congress Bonaccini challenged her for the secretariat, but then held a line of dialogue: “Unity cannot be achieved alone”, she Schlein underlined. Before her, Speranza spoke for Articolo Uno, Michela Di Biase, deputy and wife of Franceschini, for AreaDems, and Peppe Provenzano for Dems. “It’s not the statute of the Democratic Party – said Provenzano – but it’s politics that dictates who leads” the centre-left coalition.
“Elly is your guide – Speranza reiterated – our militants, the people, the results said so.” And Di Biase, to avoid any misunderstanding: «Let’s not waste time in exhausting debates. The PD statute already says it all: the candidate for prime minister is the party secretary. Let’s add in the national assembly: she will be the only PD candidate in the coalition primaries.” In short, there is support in the coalition leadership race. However, a message also arrived from Montepulciano to Schlein: listen and involve the party more. Schlein, however, made it clear not to think too much about the rituals. For example, he made no mention of either an assembly or a congress. For the program “we will have to make a journey in the country with the country, on the issues – he said – and we will continue it with the whole coalition”. And for that too the times are uncertain. So to speak, for the table Conte is thinking about summer 2026. It won’t be short or easy. However, in the regional elections «the Democratic Party has grown everywhere – reiterated Schlein – if we add up the real votes in these regions where we voted in 2024 and 2025 the progressive coalition and the government forces are equal. The game is already open.”