Pedro Sánchez turns down Littizzetto's invitation to Italy and backs Elly Schlein
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez answered comedian Luciana Littizzetto's on-air invitation to move to Italy by saying he must stay in Spain to cook paella for at least four more years. He also said he could not imagine a better person than Elly Schlein to lead Italy's centre-left.
A letter on Che tempo che fa
Luciana Littizzetto used her letter on Che tempo che fa, broadcast on NOVE, to address the Spanish prime minister on Sunday, 11 October. Speaking in a deliberately broken Spanish, she urged Pedro Sánchez to pack his bags, move to Italy and take over the fractious campo largo, the centre-left alliance. Her pitch also took a jab at the rivalry between Elly Schlein and Giuseppe Conte, whom she said fight 'like cat and dog'.
The clip was posted on the programme's Instagram page, and Sánchez answered in the comments. Writing from his official account, he thanked her for the kind words and turned down the invitation with a joke about his cooking duties at home. Sources describe the exchange as a light-hearted back-and-forth that quickly spread across social media in both countries.
Sánchez's reply and endorsement
Sánchez's answer was short and, according to the reports, written in Italian. He told Littizzetto that he had to stay in Spain, and the line about paella became the most shared part of the exchange. Several users read it as a sign that he intends to keep leading the Spanish socialists through the next term.
Thank you for the kind words, Luciana, but I have to stay in Spain cooking paella for at least another four years.
He then turned to Italian politics, using the reply to back Schlein openly. The endorsement rejected the comedian's idea in a friendly way while making clear whom he considers best placed to lead the progressive space in Italy.
I cannot imagine a better person for Italy than Elly Schlein.
He closed with a red rose and a sign-off, 'Sempre tuo, Pedro Pedro Pedro', a nod to the Raffaella Carrà song Pedro that Littizzetto had cited.
The Spanish context behind the endorsement
Il Giornale pointed to the awkward timing: Schlein has long admired the Spanish socialist model, and that model is now going through one of the most difficult phases of its recent history. On 5 October Sánchez announced the dissolution of the Cortes and called early elections for 29 November. The decision followed the parliamentary rejection of two housing decrees, and votes from Junts, an indispensable government ally, helped defeat the government.
Recent polls cited by il Giornale put the Partido Popular and Vox together above 50% of voting intentions, with the PSOE at 28.1%. The same report says Sánchez's circle faces legal cases, including a first-instance conviction of his brother David for prevarication, the so-called Koldo case, and his wife Begoña Gómez being sent to trial over alleged influence peddling and embezzlement.
- Sánchez announces dissolution of the Cortes and early elections
- Littizzetto's letter on Che tempo che fa invites Sánchez to move to Italy
- Scheduled early general election in Spain
What comes next
The early vote on 29 November is now the fixed point for Sánchez's campaign, and his message to Italy sits alongside a domestic agenda shaped by a fragile parliamentary majority. The timeline runs from the dissolution announcement on 5 October to the scheduled election date, with the Littizzetto exchange falling in between.