Referendum, Schlein: 'Hopefully it will give a political signal to the government'

"We are doing everything to reach a quorum. This is a great opportunity for citizens. This is a referendum, an opportunity for citizens to change laws, to fight precariousness, to increase safety at work, to change a citizenship law from 1992. I think that many voters of Giorgia Meloni and the right will also go to vote to change these laws'. Thus PD secretary Elly Schlein, interviewed on '24 Mattino' on Radio 24.

"I found the Prime Minister's words very wrong because saying that she goes to vote but does not vote means, at best, that she wants to confuse the citizens. Not picking up the ballots is the same as not voting, not having a quorum to scuttle these referendums. At worst he is fooling them,' he added.

The focus of Schlein's speech was therefore the referendum on 8 and 9 June. And when asked whether she hoped it would be a political signal to the government, she replied: 'Given the position they have taken, certainly yes, but because they have put themselves in a position of being afraid of participation, afraid of the expression of the free vote of citizens. I find this quite serious, especially when it concerns personalities in the institutions, in the government, in the majority, the second highest office of state who even call for abstention. I have always voted in all referendums, those I agreed with and those I disagreed with. Meloni hopes that the vote of those millions of people who are going to vote will not count and this is wrong'. 'This vote,' Schlein stressed, 'is about the material condition of those who work in Italy. This campaign is also an opportunity for us to be self-critical and change the rules on citizenship'.

As for the procession organised by the centre-left (PD, 5s and Avs) for Saturday 7 June, the Dem secretary rejected the accusation that the initiative constitutes a violation of electoral silence. 'We will not be there to talk about the referendum,' he said, 'the referendum campaign ends this Friday, along with the administrative campaign, I will be in Taranto to give the final push for the runoff, but with M5s and Avs we felt a strong urgency to respond to the desire for mobilisation that there is to stop this massacre of Palestinian civilians taking place in Gaza and the crimes of the extreme right-wing government of Netanyahu. The demonstration will be at 2pm from Piazza Vittorio, we will make a procession to Piazza San Giovanni and all the people who share this indignation I hope will come to the square with us,' he added.

What do you think of the outcome of the bilateral between Meloni and Macron? 'Positive that they met and talked,' said Schlein. 'It's a long time since the premier bent our foreign policy to her personal likes or dislikes. We remember the serious absence on that train to Kiev,' the Dem leader added, 'when there was Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine there were France, Germany and Italy and more recently France, Germany and the UK. We have always supported Ukraine: we have lamented the absence of a diplomatic force for a ceasefire. The European Union must sit at the table and work for a just peace. it will be the Ukrainians and not others who will decide on what terms to negotiate peace'.