Democratic Party Secretary Elly Schlein has come under fire from within her own party for considering standing as the party’s lead candidate in all constituencies in the EU elections, with several leading party figures asking her to reconsider a strategy they say would disadvantage her female colleagues.
Leading the charge against Schlein’s candidacy in the European elections are the women of the Democratic Party (S&D), with prominent figures such as former Chamber of Deputies president Laura Boldrini, former MEP Alessandra Moretti and MEP Paola De Micheli, who fear they could be at a disadvantage on the electoral lists.
“It is necessary to avoid in any way the risk of women being penalised in these elections”, explains Boldrini.
“It is the party that must assert itself, not Schlein”, De Micheli clarified.
Schlein’s election strategy of leading EU lists in all constituencies worries other female candidates because the lists have to alternate between male and female candidates – meaning that if Schlein always came first, the next most popular female candidates would all come third.
It would also take away positions from militants, mayors, and local governors who instead aspire to a legitimate career leap, party members say.
This would also mean that if Schlein were to give up her Brussels candidacy – which she may well do, given her leadership role in Rome – she would automatically be replaced by a male candidate.
But several party leaders also fear Schlein may ‘personalise’ the elections too much.
This choice has been made by other leaders, such as Silvio Berlusconi, who collected millions of personal preferences by leading Forza Italia lists to success on several occasions. This time, it could also be done by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR), who wants to maximise the electoral consensus of the moment to win as many seats in the European Parliament as possible.
But both were long-time leaders, which Schlein – a former MEP who became leader of the Democratic Party in March 2023 – is not.
But for the upcoming EU elections, it remains uncertain how many votes Schlein can steer towards the centre-left.
Opposition has also come from former prime minister and president emeritus of the European Commission Romano Prodi, the noble father of the Democratic Party, who – without directly referring to Schlein – has advised against standing in all constituencies.
“If you put five nominations and you choose one, it means you don’t go to the other four. In some cases, you don’t go at all”, said Prodi, who added: “My speech is general and applies to everyone”.
Five Star Movement leader and former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also criticised, speaking out against those who “deceive voters with fake candidacies” and “do not respect the mandate they have received” in the European Parliament.
(Federica Pascale | Euractiv. it)
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