Overview
- At the PD’s first national assembly of local administrators in Bologna, Elly Schlein addressed mayors including Beppe Sala, Roberto Gualtieri, Gaetano Manfredi and Matteo Lepore.
- Schlein claimed the last two national budgets removed €10.7 billion from local governments and said Rome has shifted both cuts and blame onto municipalities.
- She argued the government’s security policies have failed, citing rising crime and noting that public order does not fall under a mayor’s authority.
- She announced an amendment to the national budget to bring back resources earmarked for migrant reception centers in Albania and use them to expand law-enforcement staffing across Italy.
- She vowed to oppose a proposed EU budget she says excludes municipalities by nationalising structural funds, urging continued common European investment rather than a return to austerity.