Overview
- Giuseppe Conte proposed using primaries and M5S 'gazebos' to let voters decide disputed issues, including whether to back military aid for Ukraine, and his party has signalled it will not vote for weapons shipments to Kyiv.
- Elly Schlein publicly countered that the alliance must first agree a common program and that any primary winner should then lead the entire coalition rather than only their own party.
- Senior centre-left figures reacted with mixed responses: Matteo Renzi backed primaries only if a binding unity pact follows, while others in the PD warned against letting Conte set the agenda.
- The centre-right seized on the row to press Schlein on her stance toward Ukraine, with Antonio Tajani accusing her of silence over Conte's comments and demanding a clear pro‑European position.
- A near-term parliamentary test—a resolution tied to Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti's briefing and the controversial EU 'SAFE' defence loan—could reveal or widen the split because M5S and Avs oppose the SAFE while PD members are divided.