Schlein insists: 'Where the right governs, press freedom is at risk.'

"The violence of the attack (by Meloni in the Chamber against Schlein, ed.) proves we're right. We've never seen a prime minister who focuses on attacking the opposition, trade unionists, and magistrates, and doesn't address waiting lists. I didn't say they're the ones behind the attack on Ranucci, but that where the right governs, freedom of the press is at risk. If they're in solidarity with Ranucci, why don't they withdraw their complaints? Why doesn't Meloni ever hold a press conference?" Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein said this on "Che tempo che fa" in the Nove newspaper.

"The right hasn't said a word about the killing of a driver, or the high school devastated by fascists, or the attack on a journalist in Rome. We always condemn violence, and I hope the right will do the same," Schlein continued, emphasizing that "the right is intolerant of the limits of democracy. This is evident in the reform of the prime minister's office, which further centralizes power, in the reform of the universities, where the government wants to appoint a member from each university, and also in the reform of the justice system. The right wants to weaken the judiciary and make magistrates less independent from the government."

For Schlein, "there's too much difference between Meloni's colorful portrayal of a country that's actually black and white. Healthcare is collapsing, with extremely long waiting lists. During Meloni's tenure, 500,000 young Italians left Italy, all emigrating abroad—a backwards immigration decree."

The Democratic Party secretary then claimed that "when I arrived, the Democratic Party was at 14% in the polls, trailing the Five Star Movement; in the European elections, we reached 24%, no party in Europe gained 10 percentage points." To the objection that her stance was too left-wing, Schlein replied: "Ask the voters, let's fight for the minimum wage, which Meloni's voters also want. We're back among the people, we're back speaking the people's language. If anyone," she added, "is nostalgic for when the Democratic Party governed with a segment of the right, they're wrong. My mandate is to build a progressive coalition, to be achieved together on a platform based on healthcare, education, jobs, and rights."

And regarding alliances, he explained: "Conte said he wants to build an alliance on a progressive and coherent program: I agree. After the regional elections, we will build the program not in the chambers, but throughout the country, engaging with the various sectors and citizens. We are not building this alliance against Meloni, but on the things we want to do together, on strengthening public healthcare, and on rights, such as the right to housing."

When asked by Fabio Fazio about differences in foreign policy, particularly on Ukraine, Schlein replied: "We will do as the right does; they too start from different ideas. We will find a compromise on this too, as we did with Palestine. There are differences on how to support Ukraine, but we agree on a diplomatic effort by Europe. The Democratic Party has no doubts: there can be no just peace without Ukraine at the table; peace cannot mean Ukraine's surrender. We ask the government to guarantee Ukraine's presence at the table; we cannot get this guarantee from Trump."