Giani goes to Schlein for an encore. The secretariat will meet on Monday to (re)unite the party.

Florence, July 11, 2025 – The start of the week is shaping up to be a fiery one for the Democratic Party : Giani is expected in Rome between Monday and Tuesday for a final face-to-face meeting with Schlein to mend fences with the national party after the upheavals of the last 48 hours, and Emiliano Fossi has convened a meeting of the regional secretariat for Monday evening. The mission: to (re)unite the party. "True, the secretary is caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side, the "hurry up" demands of the local government, on the other, the wait-and-see attitude of the Nazarene party due to national balance issues. But Emiliano is doing and will do an excellent job on Monday," murmur the Schleinians, undaunted by the storm stirred up by Eugenio Giani's sprint to secure his re-election.

The diktat on Via Forlanini? Managing the "calm after the storm" of the notorious certified email sent by the governor to his party, in which he "offered" his willingness to run for a second term—three months before the regional elections in Tuscany —and easing the frayed nerves of Elly Schlein, intent on closing deals and negotiating with her broad-based allies in Puglia and Campania (in the Marche, full steam ahead with Matteo Ricci). The next step is the Democratic Party secretariat meeting, scheduled for Monday—barring countermands—where Fossi will outline a "shared" process and solution, Schlein's supporters promise. Aware that the inevitable next step will be the regional leadership meeting: if not on July 18th, then at the latest on July 20th. "The goal is to remain uncounted," admit members of the secretariat. It's always best to steer clear of internal headcounts, snipers, and long knives, and work toward a "unanimous governor" from the 274 members of the assembly, then defer, as per the statute, to the coalition. Also because, at this stage of the game, "it's difficult to have any dramatic changes regarding the candidate." The Gianiani are pushing like mad precisely for the transfer of the regional leadership by July 18th, ready four days before to submit the fifth of signatures from those eligible to participate that will trigger the self-convocation mechanism.

From the series: dear Fossi, if you don't convene it, we'll convene it ourselves. "It hasn't met for over a year. Otherwise, what mandate does the regional secretary have in mind for dealing with the other parties?" sneer the governor's supporters. No one in the Democratic Party wants to tear it apart; on the contrary, they urgently need to project a united front by appearing at the table that is drawing forces from Italia Viva to the Five Star Movement. Italia Viva isn't sitting idly by; in Tuscany, the point of reference is Commissioner Bonifazi, but in Rome, Matteo Renzi, deliberately staying out of the way, has recently reiterated to Elly Schlein the centrality of Giani's candidacy. He's the very person who "doesn't warm the hearts" of Giuseppe Conte's Movement ranks. Fossi will do everything he can to bring the Five Star Movement to the side of the broader camp, as "an essential condition for being as strong as possible." This is the key to understanding the day's statements by the CGIL Tuscany secretary.

The programmatic framework (social income, public water, and the fight to protect the end of life) launched by Giani represented, for Rossano Rossi, "substantial proposals that go in the right direction for building a progressive coalition based on the Democratic Party, the Italian Social Security Administration, and the Five Star Movement." The CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) believes this trifecta should be complemented by a defense of the manufacturing sector through a development agency, a sort of "Tuscan IRI." "We're ready to engage with Giani; we're ready," says Paolo Fantappiè of the UIL (Italian Labour Union). Less conciliatory The CISL's tone: "If the election campaign is limited to a few weeks, there will only be room for chicken-coop brawling, 'resistance to neo-fascism' versus 'let's get rid of the communists.' Gentlemen"—the thunderbolt fired at the center-right and center-left by secretary Silvia Russo—"it's time to make decisions. We're just waiting for you to tell us who we should turn to."