The Lega, on the other hand, continues to be firmly committed to taking Italy out of the European Union. Moreover, the Movement has softened its views on Europe and is no longer talking of carrying out a referendum on the Euro. If it did, it would be reneging on its founding principles, something its electorate won’t allow. To be clear: That means it won’t work with any other party, in the sense that it won’t give a seat in government to anyone else. And the Movement is firmly grounded in an anti-establishment position. They talk of providing every citizen with a minimum income.
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As Luciano Fontana, the chief editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper, pointed out on a TV talk show I watched, the Movement’s economic platform “is not only left-wing, it is almost far left”. In contrast, The Five Star Movement has deep roots on the left. Salvini’s Lega offers to “reclaim sovereignty” on the Euro, echoing Brexit, and talk of a flat tax to help business. They both pointed to the same causes for all their ills: the Euro and Europe, immigrants, a corrupt and incapable governing class.īut the solutions they offer differ (almost) diametrically. And they fight for the same electorate, people disgruntled with Brussels and the lack of cooperation from European Union partners in dealing with immigrants people unhappy with the economic situation that has been bad since 2008, especially for the young that are suffering from unemployment, at an unyielding 40%, one of the highest rate in Europe. They can’t, of course, they are too far apart. The big problem is that neither has the numbers to form a government and neither wants to work in an alliance with the other. And that means they just don’t have the numbers to pull it off. FI got stuck at 14% (I’m rounding off all the numbers here) while the PD dropped calamitously below 19%. After all, Renzi and Berlusconi were on talking terms, Berlusconi had even gone to Brussels to re-assure everyone that he was pro-Europe, so hopes were high, especially in the financial community that prefers to see political stability.
That would have meant Berlusconi (Forza Italia) and Renzi (Democratic Party – PD) would have done well enough so that in the event of a gridlock – the three poles, left, right and the Five Star Movement there would be a way out, a possible government based on a Democratic Party (PD) alliance with Forza Italia(FI). Bearded and somber, Salvini, standing strong on his “Italians First” Trumpian platform, claimed that he has a “right and duty” to govern.Įveryone had expected (or hoped?) the current system would go on, unchanged. And you can bet Vladimir Putin was equally happy, he loves nothing better than a destabilized Europe, though he is probably sad to see Berlusconi’s defeat – after all, they were good friends.ĭi Maio, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, his tie neatly knotted, declared he’s ready to govern.
And Di Maio got some 32%, making the Five Star Movement the first party in Italy, with a strong show across the peninsula, including in the South where it roundly beat the Lega.īoth, of course, are bad news for Europe and Marine Le Pen was quick to congratulate herself with Salvini: “Europe is having a terrible evening” she tweeted with a smirk. For the Lega, that’s a big leap from ten years ago when it was navigating around 5%. Unexpectedly, Salvini, the Lega boss, got 18%, sending home his old ally Berlusconi, the leader of the right coalition. Both the extreme right Lega headed by firebrand Salvini and the unclassifiable Five Star Movement led by young Di Maio won, and won big. The two winners – both populist, Euro-skeptic and anti-establishment – were a big surprise, even for the usually savvy financial markets who didn’t see it coming. A week before the elections, I asked you to imagine the worst and the worst happened. With the Italian elections, deglobalization has taken another step forward.
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