The Democratic Party dies down in the summer: reformists in turmoil, Schlein under siege

Three months of silence. Three months after the disaster . The referendum on the Jobs Act, which foundered on a lack of voter abstention, not only sealed one of the most stinging defeats for the Italian left , but also painfully exposed the strategic aphasia of the Democratic Party .

No national leadership, no public debate, no assumption of responsibility. Secretary Elly Schlein has opted for dismissal . And the leadership meeting is postponed until September, when the party will already be racing towards regional elections. But discontent is growing . And it is being felt especially among reformists , increasingly marginalized within the Nazarene.

Popular Energy is divided: Bonaccini is in the shade, while Gori and Picierno are eager to take the lead.

On Tuesday evening, in a private call among members of the reformist wing of "Energia Popolare," the future was discussed. A future that appears increasingly narrow. Stefano Bonaccini , once the charismatic leader of the faction, has now receded. And in his place, two distinct lines are emerging.

On the one hand, there are those who, while criticizing Elly Schlein 's choices, believe it is better to remain in the party without breaking away . This is the case in Milan , where the reformists support Beppe Sala without reservations, even though the base is split with Pierfrancesco Majorino's activists .

On the other hand, the most intransigent reformists – such as Pina Picierno and Giorgio Gori – are calling for a raise in their voices , denouncing the silence of “Energia Popolare” over the last two years and criticizing the party's excessive alignment with Giuseppe Conte's M5S , with clear disagreements even on international issues such as Ukraine and rearmament .

Unity Day? Only at Elly's house.

Even symbolic choices make waves. The decision to hold the Festa dell'Unità in Reggio Emilia appeared to many as a retreat into the Emilian comfort zone , avoiding regions like Tuscany , where Eugenio Giani 's re-candidacy is seen by Schlein as a bitter pill to swallow.

Meanwhile, on the regional front, the most worrying case is that of Matteo Ricci in the Marche region , who has found himself at the center of a judicial investigation. If Giuseppe Conte were to withdraw his support, his candidacy would risk imploding , and Schlein's "4-1" plan (victory in four out of five regions) could backfire politically .

A party at a standstill, a leadership in the balance

No one in the Democratic Party is yet talking about a split , but the atmosphere is tense. Schlein's "Leninist" leadership , as some call it, exacerbates the party's pluralistic spirit. And the lack of a political reaction after the referendum is seen by many as an unprecedented sign in the history of the center-left.

The problem isn't just one of content , but of method , style, and strategy. And autumn could become the season of reckoning.

September will be a watershed

With the Board meeting postponed and internal debate frozen, the Democratic Party appears weaker than ever , caught between reformist irrelevance and movement-led dominance . But the autumn regional elections could reopen everything. Or definitively end the game for many of the party's critics.

The wide field, if it doesn't really widen, risks becoming nothing more than a minefield . And for Elly Schlein , the bruises might not end in September. But they will begin .

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