Elly still doesn't see her coming

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You have to be careful with Elly Schlein . They said she would never win in a party, the PD, that lives off bigwigs. And instead she became secretary. They said she would take a beating in the European elections, and instead she held up, moreover using the reformists who hate her (with good reason). She didn't win, but it wasn't expected that she would beat Meloni. They said (remember Gruber: she was right) that her speech was incomprehensible, but in the meantime Schlein continues to be central and her message is understood, also because it is very basic: I am left-wing against the right in power. Between one armochromist and another, she can also say it very badly (and she does), but even an illiterate child understands what Elly thinks . They say (in a whisper) that her relationship with journalists is terrible, because she never says "a marginalia", she arrives, declares and leaves, because she only uses the channels she wants and the people she wants.

But in fact she continues to be - a bit like the Young Pope - the object of desire of a good part of the press precisely because she never grants a free interview. If this is consistent with the political message of transparency and democracy, it is completely irrelevant for the practical effect: the information system wants her. They said she would lose the administrative elections, and instead in the big cities there is no contest. Those who delude themselves that Milan is contestable today, perhaps do not realize the reality. Whether it will be - contestable - will depend on when (and how much!) the center-right decides to start working for an alternative. A little longer waiting, and Elly could even nominate Jack the Ripper, and she would win.

What Schlein does? It's the only way to create a community that wins elections

They said all these things about Elly Schlein. And yet she is there. Now I don't know how the referendum will end, which will probably be a bloodbath. But those who will go to vote are members of her army and only hers. That left-wing bloc that follows her, whether it is in the PD or in AVS or in the M5S, and that closes ranks. That bloc that strengthens during election or referendum campaigns and also deprives Conte's M5S of importance (between small parties and big parties that say the same thing, people choose the big party, that is, the PD). That bloc that marginalizes the reformists and forces them to play away from home, even in the center-right: an ecosystem that is unnatural for them and that tends to kill them. In the long run, what Elly Schlein does is the only way to create a community that wins elections. Will this happen in 2027? I don't know, because Meloni is a champion and the right is traditionally very united . But certainly underestimating Elly is a mistake that many are already regretting.