New leader of the left opposition in Italy

A leadership election was held yesterday to determine the successor to Secretary General Enrico Letta, who announced that he would resign due to this result in the PD, which failed to win the general elections held on September 25, 2022 and emerged as the main party in opposition. in the country.

Elena Ethel “Elly” Schlein, 37, one of the representatives of the younger generation of Italian politics, who advocated that the PD should take a more leftist line, and the regional president of Emilia Romagna, 56, Stefano Bonaccini, who promised to defeat the right-wing coalition with a broad alliance between the parties, competed.

According to the unofficial results of the election, which was held with the participation of PD voters throughout the country, Bonaccini obtained 46.2 percent of the votes, while Schlein, who obtained 53.8 percent of the votes, he was elected the new general secretary of the PD. . Thus, a female secretary general was elected for the first time in the history of the PD, which was established in 2007, while Schlein became the youngest person to hold this position in terms of age.

Congratulating Schlein on calling out his rival Bonacci first, Letta, the general secretary, who is preparing to hand over her seat, wrote on her Twitter account: “Good luck Elly Schlein. He will achieve what I couldn’t.”

According to Italian press reports, Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of the right-wing coalition government, congratulated her political rival, saying: “I hope that a young woman at the helm of the PD will help the left to look forward, not backward.” back”. .”

Elly Schlein, born in Switzerland in 1985, the daughter of a family with Jewish roots, has a law degree. Schlein is known for her views on labor reform and the fight against climate change, as well as defending the rights of immigrants and homosexuals. Schlein, who made a name for himself in Italian politics with his advances in these areas, served as a European Parliamentarian in the 2014-2019 term and was elected to the House of Representatives in the general election on September 25, 2022 in Italy.

‘WE WILL BE A BIG PROBLEM FOR THE GOVERNMENT’

Schlein made a statement on camera after the election results were almost certain and his rival Bonaccini called him to congratulate him. Stating that they made a revolution by winning together, Schlein said he was grateful to those who supported him and his team, and that they should not betray this trust.

In his speech, Schlein sent a message to the right-wing coalition government led by Giorgia Meloni, saying: “We will be a big problem for the Meloni government. Starting today we will contribute to the organization of the opposition in parliament and throughout the country to defend the poor that the government does not want to see, ”he said.

As leader of the main opposition party, Schlein also announced that in his program he will give priority to the issues of minimum wage, labor and occupational safety, health and the environment. (AA)