While Italy Flirts With The Far Right, The Country Sinks Into A Quagmire

We were in Naples and lunching with friends. We clinked our glasses to celebrate the victory of the leftwing coalition on the previous day in the regional elections in Emilia- Romagna. This region has always been a left-wing stronghold. But the far-right had gained a lot of consensus in the campaign and many voters were worried that they might also win the Presidency of the region.

The good news was that the center left-wing coalition (composed of the PD Democratic Party together with the 5 Star movement and two smaller parties) gained 51.4% of the vote while the center right-wing coalition managed 43.7%.

The more sobering news was that the center right-wing coalition in Calabria had won. It was the same alliance of Forza Italia, (Berlusconi) Lega (Matteo Salvini) and Brothers of Italy (Giorgia Meloni) that had been defeated in the north.

It would be interesting if this victory will make any difference at all to organized crime rates and one of the highest unemployment rates in Italy.

The Sardine Movement definitely made an impact

We chatted away and remarked that the Sardine movement had been a great help because it had organized rallies and flash mobs all over the country and had started in Bologna. That, itself was an encouraging sign that the center-left was making a comeback.

The young protesters refuse to become a political party but their influence has made an impact on the Italian political and social scene.

Their message is one of inclusion, tolerance and a more equal society where immigrants would be welcome and racism would not be tolerated. This was the other side of Italy that had been hidden or gagged for far too long.

We remarked that the right-wing parties were more forward-looking than the left in presenting female candidates such as Lucia Borgonzoni in the above election. But it was ironic that a man (who else but Matteo Salvini) dominated the entire campaign from sampling local food produced in the region to other stunts which overshadowed the female candidate and in the end it backfired.

Salvini’s most spectacular stunt was to listen to a neighbor in the area where he was campaigning. This woman claimed that her son had died of a drug overdose and it was all because of a pusher who was living quite close to her house. Salvini went with her (and the press!), pushed the intercom bell and asked the Tunisian youth who answered:-

“Are you a drug pusher?”

Facebook, fortunately, removed the video of this appalling example of bullying door-to-door DIY justice as it was inciting racial hatred. Interesting too was the fact that Salvini’s party had spent €143,000 in just one month on Facebook electoral campaign ads. Facebook was far too lenient and it was only after the offended youth protested that they took down that awful video. This young man is taking legal action against Salvini.

The other good news is that a popular radio host, Fabio Volo, asked Salvini if he would have the balls to go and ring a local mafia boss’s bell? This made the point that many Italians were pondering as well. There was no reply to that one. It was a pity that Volo used such foul language and was reprimanded by the Radio’s host.

And the bad news?

Sunday’s election result was a minor victory and we knew it.

The populist far-right has made inroads in many regional elections and they are bound to win a majority in the next national election. The present executive is hanging on like most governments. Here is a list of things that tend to keep us awake at night.

• Dozens of illegal immigrants have died in shantytowns as they are exploited as slaves to pick fruit, olives, tomatoes, and vegetables. They get about €2 an hour if they are lucky.
• There are about half a million migrant workers working in the fields. That accounts for about 50% of the total workforce. This is a shocking figure especially as 80% will never get a proper contract nor will they ever get a permanent visa to stay. The gangmaster system is flourishing.
• These stories rarely make the headlines and are never mentioned by the populists except when they block rescue efforts at sea. If the refugees ever land safely, they are exploited and many Italians seem happy with that as they pose for selfies with Matteo Salvini.
• “Italians first” is a populist slogan but who will pick up the pieces when the economy goes into recession?
• It seems Italy does not need or even want immigrants — this is the most hypocritical rubbish that is often spouted by the far right. Many voters lap it up. They conveniently forget about Italy’s dramatically falling birth rate.
• No politician (either on the right or the left) has offered any solution to the dramatically falling birth rate which with increased life expectancy is a grave risk to the economy in the long term.
• The far-right is increasingly critical and skeptical of the EU. The League party has refused to attend 20 meetings in Brussels to discuss migration. They much preferred to stay on the campaign trail and voters never knew what was going on. Not that the EU is without fault as it has always steered away from its responsibility to offer solidarity.
• The far-right has, as yet, provided no convincing arguments as to how the Italian economy (stagnant for 20 years) would actually manage outside the EU.

• The populists always tell their electorate what they want to hear. It is easy to cherry-pick and with the help of Facebook ads, it’s a walkover.

Avoid difficult topics, blame whoever you can and exploit the weakest in our society.

• Instead of tackling tax evasion, the far-right advocates equal tax for everyone regardless of their income. They want a flat tax of 20%. When they were in government with the 5 Star Movement the UBI (universal basic income) was introduced and implemented. The Italian Industrial Confederation of Italy issued a warning that with these policies and the delay in increasing VAT, Italy is risking a recession.

Having said that, there has never been a real effort on the part of any Italian government to tackle tax evasion.

• The far-right claims they are not anti-Semitic at all. Yet, the perpetual streams of hate on social media have never been condemned by them. It is a sad fact that one of the few survivors of Auschwitz, Senator Liliana Segre (89), has to be given a police escort because her Facebook page is flooded with 200 hate messages and death threats every day!
• But the left-wing parties in Italy are also to blame. They all have one thing in common. They have split into so many factions so many times that it beggars belief. It shows their true weakness in ever persuading millions of voters they can be united enough to govern with competence and humanity. They have failed miserably.

Now you know why we sleep uneasily in our beds at night. The rise of the far-right, not only in Italy but in many other European countries and in the USA is a stark warning that our peaceful future and civilized existence are at stake.

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” ― Martin Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I have lived in Italy for 45 years, you might enjoy some of my other Italian and other stories listed below.