Elly Schlein is not only the youngest person to lead Italy’s center-left Democratic Party, but its first female and out LGBTQ+ leader too. She took the opposition party’s helm in February in a victory that took most everyone by surprise. Now she’s widely seen as the progressive answer to Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s nationalist Prime Minister. But restoring trust in Italy’s fragmented left will pose a challenge. “It’s going to take time,” she says, “but we’re working on it.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
