With the election of Meloni Italy has turned from being a “locomotive of solidarity” – which allowed it to push for the Next Generation EU fund based on common debt – to a friend of the extreme right. It is in fact the extreme right that congratulates her after her victory, while other European partners seem more cautious. I doubt that Italy remains a partner as reliable as it was for the EU so far.

It was a huge defeat, a result below all expectations. We had a cutting-edge social and environmental program, but in reconnecting with people we are still paying the weight of a period in our history in which we had completely lost the compass of European socialism.

Yes! The next congress will be a chance to change course in the Italian left. For me it is the new PD parliamentarians that give me hope. From Florence and the province we sent Federico Gianassi and Emiliano Fossi to parliament: the first has proven himself as an excellent administrator capable of governing a city that is undergoing profound transformations, the second has proven himself as a bulwark against the right. People like them, along with other big, progressive and younger names like Elly Schlein, will be a valuable asset to build upon.