Elly Schlein’s Democratic Party hit by internal revolt over right‑wing votes in southern Italy

Local members of Italy’s Democratic Party (PD) in the Sannio province voted for right‑wing candidates in recent provincial elections, prompting the party’s founder Giovanni Palmieri and the Coraggio Dem Sannio movement to demand the resignation of the provincial secretary and several elected officials. The statement condemned the votes as a betrayal of the party’s democratic and left‑wing values and called for the immediate stepping down of those who supported the right‑wing slate.

At the same time, national PD leader Elly Schlein is touring small towns across Italy – including Sant’Ilario D’Enza, Bagno a Ripoli, Aquileia, Pray, Urbino, Villalunga and Capracotta – to rally party militants ahead of the upcoming coalition primaries. Schlein aims to mobilise the “feste dell’unità” to boost support and challenge rival leader Giuseppe Conte in the primary race.