compliance with the eligibility conditions. Deputy secretary of the PD After winning the special primaries organized by the Democratic Party, Guerini was included in the list of candidates for the Lombardy 3 constituency of the Chamber of Deputies and was finally elected. In 2013, Guerini endorsed Matteo Renzi in the 2013 leadership election, who appointed him, member of the national secretariat of the party, with the role of spokesman. In February 2014 he joined the newly appointed Prime Minister Renzi in carrying out institutional consultations for the formation of the new government. On 14 June 2014, the PD national assembly approved Guerini's appointment as party's deputy secretary, along with Debora Serracchiani. Following the 2017 leadership election, they both ceased from office on 7 May 2017, replaced by Maurizio Martina. However, Guerini held a position within the party leadership, becoming coordinator of the national secretariat. In the 2018 general election Guerini was re-elected in the Chamber of Deputies and on 18 July 2018 he was elected president of Parliamentary Committee for the Intelligence and Security Services and for State Secret Control (COPASIR), a body of the Italian Parliament deputed to survey and oversee the activities of the Italian intelligence agencies. Minister of Defence In August 2019 tensions grew within the populist government, leading to the issuing of a motion of no-confidence on Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte by the League. After Conte's resignation, the national board of the PD officially opened to the possibility of forming a new cabinet in a coalition with the M5S, based on pro-Europeanism, green economy, sustainable development, fight against economic inequality and a new immigration policy. The party also accepted that Conte may continue at the head of a new government, and on 29 August President Sergio Mattarella formally invested Conte to do so. On 5 September, Guerini was appointed new Minister of Defence. In February 2021, Giuseppe Conte resigned as Prime Minister, following Italia Viva's withdrawal from the government. The former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, was invited by Italian President Sergio Mattarella to form a government of national unity. On 13 February, Guerini was confirmed as Minister of Defence. Shortly after taking office in 2019, Guerini announced that the Italian government would press ahead with an investment program for Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. In 2021, he backed the involvement of shipbuilder Fincantieri in the sale of Leonardo’s OTO Melara