The secretary of the Democratic Party, a long-distance runner on summer vacations, will re-emerge from the waters on August 31st like a Madonna of the tides. The secretary’s boys already see themselves in government and talk about nothing else. But first there are pressing issues to address
We are still haunted by two dramatic lines we read yesterday in the Corriere: “Finally everyone asks: where is Schlein?”. This is, in fact, the question that, like a long shiver, runs through the entire Democratic Party: where is the secretary? The issue of the minimum wage seems to be relegated to the background, it would seem that the issues of signatures for the referendums, the war in Ukraine, inflation, healthcare are not pressing, because the need to know where Schlein is seems to be primary.. She’s in Switzerland. Actually, no, she’s at the seaside. Actually, no, she’s in America. But can we know where she is? She’s definitely disappeared. How long will this vacation last? But don’t worry, they tell us: she, or rather Elly, will be back. Be sure of that.
On Saturday he will be in Procida, at the Unità festival* (the asterisk is not a typo). She, or rather Elly, in short Schlein, now also known as the missing woman of Bologna, will re-emerge from the waters on August 31st like a Madonna of the tidesas clean as a canary and gentle with a harp. Waiting for her, the boys from her office who, of course, have a great and respectful reference for the boss’s holidays, even if a certain impatience in front of this long-distance runner of the summer holidays sometimes overtakes them. If only because there are pressing issues to address. The boys from the office (“Elly’s band”) they already see themselves in government and they talk about nothing else. It may be true that until yesterday they were at most regional councilors, but they were born with the desire to be ministers just as others are born with the desire for strawberries or coffee.
But there’s a problem. Before dividing up the ministries of a government that does not yet exist, the party’s summer cleaning must be completed. Most of the Democratic Party dinosaurs have been dumped in Brussels, but there are still a few left in Rome. Andrea Orlando needs to be fixed in Liguria where he must be nominated for president, and above all he must be made to understand a fundamental concept: then you remain there even if you lose the elections. Then there’s Paolo Gentiloni to sort out. Even though he seems to be settling down on his own in some international organization like the World Bank, and in any case he has no “existential” problems for the next two years since he will continue to receive his allowance as a former European Commissioner (which is such that every month they bring it up to him with a freight elevator: 25,910 euros). As for Dario Franceschini, he has already made it clear that he does not want to run again. His intention was greeted with applause. Finding someone who leaves on his own has become the supreme ambition of the Schlein secretariat, so much so that the next meeting has been decided to be held at Termini station. The loudspeaker announces: “The Eurostar for Milan is leaving.” An enthusiastic cheer can be heard and a frenetic waving of handkerchiefs can be seen. They are Elly’s boys.