'We are the alternative': Italy's Democratic Party makes final appeal to voters

The leader of Democratic Party made a last-ditch call to voters in the Italian capital ahead of EU elections.

Transcript

00:00 After speaking in Milan on Saturday, the leader of the Democratic Party, Elie Schlein, held

00:09 a final rally to take place in the Italian capital on Sunday ahead of the elections.

00:13 Alongside Schlein, several candidates took to the stage here in Rome. Schlein outlined

00:21 the party's priorities in these elections. She mentioned the need to agree on a ceasefire

00:27 in Gaza. She backed the recognition of the Palestinian state and she said it's time to

00:33 end the war in Ukraine. When it comes to national policies, she very much focused on the public

00:39 sector, saying that both education and health need to be sustained and improved. And she

00:46 said that her party is determined to raise the minimum wage.

00:50 "Let's start with a more social Europe, yes, because we say it often, but the Democratic

00:57 Party has introduced a law that brings my first signature to ask for the salvation of

01:02 universal public health from cuts and privatization that this government is carrying out. A more

01:09 social Europe is the one that invests in another great priority, the public school as the first

01:15 great lever of social emancipation of people." Thanks to her leadership, many here feel encouraged

01:21 to vote for the Democratic Party as the only way to challenge the right-wing bloc both

01:26 in Italy and in Europe.

01:28 "It's the only alternative today, there's no other alternative. I hope that the left

01:33 can be united, that it can all come together around Elie in a strong way and that we can

01:40 be an even stronger force within our country and within Europe."

01:45 "From the latest policies I see a revival of attention towards the public sector thanks

01:53 to Elie."

01:54 Finding common ground between Schlein and Melloni is difficult even in Europe. The Democratic

01:59 Party leader made it clear that her party and the rest of the European socialist family

02:03 won't accept any alliances with either the conservatives or nationalist parties.

02:09 Giorgia Orlandi for ERA News, in Rome.

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