Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO – A step aside to let Sicily’s Democratic Party rediscover unity and momentum ahead of the next electoral deadlines. In a Facebook post that immediately shook the regional political debate, Anthony Barbagallo announced his resignation as leader of the Sicilian Democratic Party, handing his mandate directly to the national leadership.
A decision that had been circulating insistently in political circles, awaiting the official ruling of the national guarantees commission on the disputed elections for the party’s leadership in Sicily, whose results had been challenged, opening deep rifts within the Democratic ranks.
The reasons for his departure: “The party must change gear”
In reviewing the years spent leading Sicily’s centre-left, Barbagallo did not hide the difficulties encountered in trying to stitch together the party’s different factions:
“In Sicily, in recent months, I have worked to reconcile the different sensibilities within the PD, convinced that no internal division can be worth more than the need to build a credible alternative. That reconciliation has still not arrived. The agenda and deadlines are pressing, and the PD, the whole PD, must change gear. To tackle the final stretch, a new structure is needed.”
The MP stressed the value of the grassroots presence built “branch by branch” over seven years in office, claiming as his final formal act the presentation at the Chamber of Deputies of a book dedicated to Pio La Torre. Hence the choice to step aside: “Generosity sometimes means precisely making room so a community can find itself again and restart stronger.”
Next scenarios: the Emiliano Abramo option and Rome’s shadow
With Barbagallo’s resignation, the succession phase officially begins within Sicily’s PD. In recent hours, in the corridors and chat groups of party members, the name of Emiliano Abramo has been circulating insistently as the leading candidate for any primaries, although from Rome there are signs of strict assessments on a possible caretaker management or on the future organisational structure to avoid a political “game over” in Sicily ahead of the major 2027 deadline.
