The (new) Democratic Party: ideology, values and strategies of sympathizers, members and delegates

ABSTRACT

The PD has always been a composite and complex party, where different and sometimes opposing political cultures converge. The 2023 primary elections overturned the predictions by handing over the party leadership to Elly Schlein, interpreted by many as the beginning of a renewal process. However, it is precisely the logic of open primaries that brings into play different actors, bearers of values and strategies that are not always congruent. Will the PD be able to build a more homogeneous political culture and a coalition capable of facing the centre-right in the upcoming internal challenges? Does the change in the PD’s internal balances complicate or facilitate the formation of a competitive political offer? To answer these questions, we will investigate the differences between members, sympathisers and delegates to the National Assembly according to three analytical dimensions - self-placement on the left-right axis, value positioning with respect to some relevant issues, and the party’s coalitional perspectives - on the basis of the data collected during the 26 February 2023 primaries and in the context of the National Assembly on 12 March. First, we will deal with the process of selecting the PD leadership, discussing the rules of competition, the specificities of the two main candidates, and reconstructing the results obtained at the regional level during the phase of the democratic militants’ vote and that of the open primaries. The analysis of the data will provide us with solid elements on which we can then offer an overall discussion of the main results that emerged to understand, in terms of ideological orientations, values, and expectations on the party’s coalitional strategies, whether and to what extent Schlein’s election might be the prelude to an internal renewal or whether it might prefigure a new season of divisions.

KEYWORDS:

• Italy
• Democratic Party
• Ideology
• Values
• Coalitions
• Primaries
• National Congress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The use of the term ‘primary’ to describe the inclusive selection of a party leader, rather than a candidate for public office, may appear careless and inaccurate. Typically, the term ‘primary’ is associated with procedures designed to choose candidates for elective positions. However, the US ideal type is diversely applied even within the US, and has been reconsidered and adapted over time when applied to different political contexts and systems (Ware 2018). Drawing on Ware’s observation that ‘[t]o call these leadership elections ‘primaries’ is to stretch the notion of a primary still further, although arguably not without good reason’ [Ibid. 36], this article will use the term ‘primaries.’

2. The Facebook message with which Nicola Zingaretti announced his resignation is available here: https://www.facebook.com/nicolazingaretti/posts/10159009751079034?ref=embed_post.

3. ‘Lettera – Appello Enrico Letta per la partecipazione al Congresso costituente del nuovo Pd’, https://www.partitodemocratico.it/news/lettera-appello-enrico-letta-per-la-partecipazione-al-congresso-costituente-del-nuovo-pd.

4. https://www.partitodemocratico.it/manifesto-dei-valori.

5. The National Assembly consists of representatives elected through national closed lists associated with candidates for the party leadership. In addition to these elected members, the assembly includes ex-officio participants, such as the 100 members drawn from among deputies, senators and members of the European Parliament. Other ex-officio members comprise the PD mayors of metropolitan cities, provincial capitals and regional capitals, as well as currently serving regional presidents and former party leaders. The primary responsibilities of the National Assembly involve appointing the party leader following the primaries; electing the party’s Direzione nazionale (National direction, a national executive body) and treasurer; approving amendments to the party’s statute, and overseeing the election of a new party leader in the event that the incumbent resigns.

6. ‘Schlein, mio è stato un ritorno nel Pd, non sono un’estranea’, www.ansa.it, 15 December 2022.

7. The selectorate is the group of people who elect the leader (e.g. Pilet and Cross 2014). For a broader discussion of the opening of the selectorate of party leaders, see, for example (Marino 2021).

8. For details of the methodology informing the two surveys, please consult the online appendix. This provides information on the sampling procedures employed, the wording of questions (including response categories) included in the two questionnaires, and the strategies used to facilitate comparison of the three samples.

9. Comparing the three samples was methodologically complex because the questions used to survey them were often different in the two questionnaires. The appendix outlines the recoding undertaken to ensure comparability between the two surveys. It is worth noting that the analysis excluded the liberalism/interventionism dimension, given significant disparities in the wording of questions across the surveys. Additionally, the data analyses presented in Tables 2–4 do not take into account the ‘don’t know’ and ‘no answer’ categories.

10. We consider convergent those orientations that achieve an overall level of agreement/disagreement of more than 80% across the various organizational levels.

11. The response categories used in the questionnaire administered to delegates did not include the ‘none’ option. See the appendix for details.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paola Bordandini

Paola Bordandini is an associate professor in Political Science at the University of Bologna. Her research interests focus on political parties transformation, social capital, and political culture.

Bruno Marino

Bruno Marino is an Assistant Professor (Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato Tipo B) in Political Science at the University of Padua. His main research interests are related to parties and party systems in comparative perspective, political elites, and the personalisation of politics.

Laura Sartori

Laura Sartori is an Associate professor in Sociology at the University of Bologna. Her research focuses on social and political participation with a special attention to gender issues.

Antonella Seddone

Antonella Seddone is an Associate professor in Political Science at the University of Turin. Her research interests focus on political parties organization, electoral behaviour and political communication.