Emilia Romagna regional president Stefano Bonaccini is the favorite to win the Democratic Party primaries
The main concern this week for Democratic Party (PD) militants has been finding tents that can withstand the rain and wind that will hit almost all of Italy on Sunday. The bad weather is the latest hurdle for the main center-left political force in the country, which is holding its primaries on a day when leaving home to go to one of the 5,500 ballot boxes installed on the street can become an almost heroic gesture. thus getting in the way of the goal of getting at least one million votes. If the low turnout is confirmed, it would further reinforce the difficult period faced by Italian progressives, humiliated by the right-wing Giorgia Meloni in last September’s election and comatose ever since.
The poor result in those elections led to the resignation of Enrico Letta as leader of the PD, opening a succession race that will be closed this Sunday by Stefano Bonaccini and Elly Schlein. They were the first two to be classed in last week’s ballot among the militants and will now be subject to scrutiny by all Italians who are at least 16 years old and foreigners legally residing in the country. Citizens who want to participate in the primaries must also pay two euros and declare that they are PD voters. Except for a last-minute surprise, the chosen one will be Bonaccini, regional president of Emilia-Romagna and with a reputation as a good manager in this rich area.
The lesbian and ultra-feminist Schlein, who was 18 points below Bonaccini in the militants’ vote on Feb. 19, is seen as a more left-wing option than her rival. That image, which can frighten the most centrist voter, is exactly what Schlein is trying to exploit to try and surprise and revitalize his party. Schlein and Bonaccini know each other well, because before he was elected deputy in the last general election, the candidate was regional vice president of Emilia-Romagna.
In the 15 years since its inception, the PD has devoured eight different leaders, lasting less than two years on average. It is therefore not surprising that the joke that has been doing the rounds at headquarters in recent weeks in light of the approaching primaries: “We have elected the next former secretary general.” This is yet another confirmation of the few hopes the left has of returning to power any time soon, for two reasons: the wear and tear of supporting all the tech governments of recent years and the strength of Meloni, confirmed in the recent victories from the right in the regional elections in Lombardy and Lazio. Even Letta and Bonaccini have had good words for the Prime Minister lately. While the outgoing PD leader celebrated that the head of government is “turning out better than we expected”, the favorite to succeed her acknowledged that she was a “capable” politician and that “she is not fascist”. usual accusation against Meloni.
Source: La Verdad
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