Analysis
How Elly Schlein won a debate among Dems over ‘radical’ rearmament
Schlein let it be known that she did not intend to give up expressing her clear opposition to the rearmament plan, and the reformists ended up accepting it, calling the text “balanced.”
“The ReArm EU plan proposed by EU Commission President von der Leyen goes in the direction of favoring the rearmament of the 27 member states and must be radically changed.” Between March 17 and 18, an internal war was waged in the PD around that adverb, “radically,” in the draft of the resolution to be presented in Parliament.
Late on that Monday evening, there was an announcement from the PD’s right wing of a break with the party leadership because of that adverb; however, by Tuesday morning the break had magically turned into an agreement: Schlein let it be known that she did not intend to give up expressing her clear opposition to the rearmament plan, and the reformists ended up accepting it, calling the text “balanced”: “Overall, there is a green light for defense investment and for negotiation within the scope of the white paper to ensure that increases in resources are conditional on building a common defense,” explained Alessandro Alfieri, coordinator of the reformist wing of the PD and key player in the negotiations.
From the Schlein side, they had another take on the reformists' retreat: “They understood that another break, after the one in Strasbourg, would only make a political problem worse.” Reading between the lines: “They were afraid that Elly would call an extraordinary congress.” The scenario of her resigning and calling new primaries is not entirely off the table, although many among the party bigwigs who support Schlein are trying to tamp down the tensions, starting with Dario Franceschini, who asked the secretary not to turn the clash into something dramatic.
On Tuesday, the rules of the Senate gave an assist to the PD and the opposition parties: after PM Meloni's report ahead of the March 20-21 EU Council, only the center-right motion was allowed to be voted on, shutting out those of the oppositions. As a result, the vote board at Palazzo Madama showed an unusually rosy picture for the progressive forces: all opposed, from Renzi down to the M5S and AVS, with the PD fully united on “no”: 69 against, 109 in favor and 4 abstentions from the linguistic minorities.
On Wednesday, a litmus test was expected in the Chamber: the Dems were all expected to vote for their resolution, but divisions were still possible between those who might vote for parts of the resolutions by M5S and AVS, and those among the PD’s right wing who might be tempted by those of Azione and Italia Viva. The party line would be to abstain on all resolutions from the other opposition parties.
“We have settled on a clear line: yes to the common European defense and no to the rearmament of individual states,” Peppe Provenzano, PD representative for foreign policy and co-author of the resolution, told il manifesto. On the adverb radically,” he explained: “For years we have been open about the need for radical reformism, and the call for a radical revision of the rearmament plan is consistent with a serious reformism that doesn’t abandon its principles.”
On the floor, PD group leader Francesco Boccia said the Dems were calling for “a major common investment plan for the strategic autonomy of the EU, which means industrial cooperation, social cohesion, environmental and digital transition, energy security and also common defense.” And he criticized the center-right's motion: “At the core, it’s hollow. The only way to go along with it is to ignore the problems.” The PD group leader also attacked Meloni's weakness on Trump's tariffs: “Is she ready to make Elon Musk pay up? Between the EU and Trump, she has chosen the U.S. president.”
Renzi also attacked the premier on tariffs: “Businessmen are terrified, even those who voted for her. We risk Trump killing our economy, but she keeps kissing his feet.” The former premier also tore into Meloni on the Elmasry case (“Did you repatriate him because of a ‘technicality’ or because of ‘national interest’?”) and Paragon scandal: “Did the government ask to wiretap Fanpage director Cancellato and other activists? She needs to say yes or no.” Meloni did not respond: “Throwing insinuations might be useful for you to sell your book, but you lost me there.” Renzi's rejoinder: “She’s running away. As of today, I have the right to say that Meloni is refusing to deny the use of wiretaps against a journalist who had attacked her party.”
There was harsh criticism of the rearmament plan from M5S and AVS as well: “The nefarious plan by von der Leyen makes the prospect of peace more remote and changes the EU's DNA: it goes in the opposite direction from a common defense. It is political suicide,” said AVS group leader Peppe De Cristofaro.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/schlein-vince-la-sfida-tra-i-dem-sul-riarmo-cambio-radicale on 2025-03-19