“Do as I say, but not as I do.” The proverb well portrays the contradiction of Elly Schlein, the first woman to lead the center-left in Italy. She was elected the new secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) last Sunday (26/02).
Elly, defender of an immediate reform in the law of Italian citizenship, has three nationalities: Italian, American and Swiss.
With an American father and an Italian mother, born in Lugano, Switzerland, Elly studied law in Bologna and was elected to the European Parliament for the Democratic Party in 2014, breaking with the party the following year.
Previously, she volunteered in the US for Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns. Declared bisexual, after her experience as a parliamentarian in Brussels she embarked on national politics.
The most voted by name in the election for the Assembly of Emilia Romagna, she was later invited to be vice-governor on the ticket of the same PD with which she had broken.
Conflict of interests
For Alexandro Maria Tirelli, president of the “Freedom, Justice, Republic” party, this is a “condition of clear incompatibility” between the three nationalities of the “new star of the Italian left”. Claiming supposed “Conflict of interests”, the lawyer advised the congresswoman to renounce her American and Swiss passports.
According to Tirelli, Schlein “cannot get involved in high-level politics in Italy with his US and Swiss passports in his pocket,” according to an article in The newspaper.
“If you come to occupy institutional positions One day, what will happen?” asked the lawyer in a note. “In fact, the United States and Switzerland are two nations that are not part of the European Union, with their own interests and political views which do not necessarily need to coincide with those of Italy. How will Schlein react when he has to deal with dossiers involving the USA or Switzerland?”, Tirelli continued in a statement. It’s still: “Who will Schlein listen to considering she has Italian citizenship, American and Swiss?”
PD dreams of law reform
The Democratic Party(PD) has defended a reform in the law of Italian citizenship. The proposal has generated debate and controversy in the country, as the current law is seen by allied parties as very restrictive and difficult to access by foreigners who wish to become Italian citizens.
The current law of Italian citizenship was established in 1992 and requires foreigners who wish to become Italian citizens to have legally resided in the country for at least 10 years, among other requirements. However, the law also allows descendants of Italians who emigrated to other countries to obtain the Italian citizenship through the so-called “jure sanguinis" (right of blood).
However, many foreigners who have lived in Italy for years, contributing to society and paying taxes, are unable to obtain Italian citizenship due to the restrictions of current law. This has generated criticism and protests from immigrant groups and foreigners' rights defenders.
Given this scenario, the PD has defended a reform of the Italian citizenship law to make it more inclusive and fair. The party's proposal includes reducing the minimum residence time required to obtain Italian citizenship, as well as other measures to facilitate the process of naturalization. And of course, impose generational limits for requesting citizenship via the ascendant, thus extinguishing the so-called "jure sanguinis".
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