The Democratic Party has its first female and feminist secretary.
This is how Elly Schlein, the “anti-Meloni” chosen by Enrico Letta to close the political election campaign, likes to define herself. A dizzying rise, that of the new secretary, who went directly from the vice presidency of the Emilia-Romagna Region to the Chamber and, now, to the Nazareno.
The youngest secretary the party has ever had. All this in the space of five months. And to think that until recently, Elly Schlein was not even a member of the PD. She had left in disagreement with the line of the Renzi secretariat and it took a constituent congress to allow her to return in record time.
With Schlein, the Democratic Party is moving towards “being left-wing,” as the MP has continued to say throughout the congressional campaign. Elly, born Elena Ethel Schlein, was born in 1985 in Lugano to a family of academics. Her mother, the Italian Maria Paola Viviani Schlein, was dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Insubria.
Her father, the American Melvin Schlein, is a professor emeritus of Political Science and has a past as assistant director at the Bologna branch of Johns Hopkins University. Schools in Agno, a Swiss municipality of 4.518 inhabitants in the Canton of Ticino, high school diploma in Lugano, the secretary of the Democratic Party studied at the Dams in Bologna and then moved on to Law.
She defines herself as a nerd, a video game enthusiast and a cinephile, a lover of American indie-rock, and a two-time volunteer in the US for Barack Obama's electoral campaigns.
She was born in the Democratic Party, politically. From the Civati area, in 2013 she was the ideologist of Occupy Pd, a movement that opposed the 101 snipers who stopped Romano Prodi's run to the Quirinale. In 2014, with Matteo Renzi as secretary, she was elected to the European Parliament with over 50 thousand preferences.
With the scrapper, however, there is no feeling: "I left the party for choices such as the Good School, the reform of the Constitution, the Sblocca-Italia, three votes of confidence on the electoral law. Even on climate the PD failed: it is no longer the time for half words, battles must be fought to the end: therefore, no to land consumption", recalls the Democratic secretary. In 2015, therefore, Schlein arrives at Possibile, but in 2019 the partnership with Civati breaks down and Elly begins to dance alone.
The Emilia-Romagna Regionals are upon us, the left that accompanies Stefano Bonaccini is looking for a face. Schlein becomes the leader of Coraggiosa, a left-wing rally that also has former governor Vasco Errani among its sponsors. The list does not reach 4%, but Schlein - thanks to a viral video in which she urges Matteo Salvini, a strong investment on social media and the favor of the Sardines - exceeds 22 thousand preferences in three provinces.
The leap to the vice-presidency of the Region is obvious. As Bonaccini's deputy, she begins to appear in the studios of the main talk shows, she comes out: "Right now I'm with a girl and I'm happy". L'Espresso dedicates a cover to her as a possible leader of a future Cosa Rossa. After the birth of the Draghi government and the resignation of Nicola Zingaretti as secretary of the PD, she is the one to take the first step: "Let's make an appointment".
She launches the appeal in March 2021 to the galaxy of the left, specifying that "the solution is not to return to a Pd in great confusion". It will go differently. In the political elections she chooses to run with the Pd in Emilia-Romagna, locked into the proportional list. She takes on the role of the anti-Meloni: "I am a woman. I love another woman and I am not a mother, but that does not make me less of a woman", she says from the stage of Piazza del Popolo in Rome, reversing the iconic speech of the leader of Fratelli d'Italia.
After the defeat and the consequent resignation of Letta, Schlein's name is given in pole position for the secretariat. Next to that of 'her' president: Stefano Bonaccini. It is the derby of the Via Emilia. But Schlein is not yet registered: she runs in Rome, gets the membership card at Bolognina, the club of Occhetto's Svolta, and receives the support of a good part of the left dem and of Articolo Uno.
The vote among the members confirms the expectations: it is her turn to challenge Bonaccini in the primaries. No one has ever succeeded in the upset: the gazebos have always confirmed the winner in the circles.
Elly Schlein: “It's our time, we've realized our dream together but it's just the beginning“
“It's our time, we believed in it so strongly that we made a dream come true together, but let's make sure it's just the beginning”. This is what Elly Schlein, elected secretary of the
And then he added: "I want to thank the outgoing secretary Enrico Letta, whom I spoke to a little while ago, and the entire secretariat. Tomorrow we will agree on the handover. I thank all the members, the volunteers and my staff, without whom I would not have made it."
“I want to send a very strong and warm message to Stefano Bonaccini. Thanking him and complimenting him and thanking him for the very high and respectful discussion we had. We will work together for the unity of the country and the party, we cannot afford anything else. I will be everyone's secretary”.
Elly Schlein: “We will be a big problem for Meloni”
"We will be a big problem for the government and for Giorgia Meloni, because now our commitment is to organize the opposition in Parliament and in the country. We will be that party that will not rest until it has abolished precariousness. From tomorrow, let's all work together in the interest of the country".
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