PD has duty to construct alternative to right says Schlein

(see related).
    (ANSA) - ROME, JUN 10 - Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said Monday that her centre-left group has a duty to build a credible alternative to the ruling centre-right alliance after its strong showing in the European elections.
    The PD came second with around 24.5% of the vote, according to projections, up from around 19% in the 2022 Italian general election.
    "It's an extraordinary result for us," Schlein said at the PD's Rome headquarters.
    "We are the party that has grown most since the general election," she added, stressing that the gap with Premier Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party (FdI), which got almost 29%, had narrowed.
    "We will continue to be stubbornly in favour of (opposition) unity.
    "We feel the responsibility to build the alternative.
    "The sum of the parties of the opposition is above that of the ruling majority".
    At the EU level, Schlein said support for the Party of European Socialists (PES) had "held up" and stressed that "no majority (in the European Parliament) is possible without the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group". (ANSA).