Opinioni
JOHN FOOT'S TAKE
ON THE ELECTIONS
I spoke to John Foot on Friday March 3rd, three days before the results came out for the 2018 general election. The final results were:
Five Star Movement 32.22%
Democratic Party 18.9%
Lega 17.69%
Forza Italia 13.94%
Fratelli d'Italia 4.35%
Free and Equal 3.38%
What sets this election apart?
This election is impossible to predict, partly as a result of the change in the electoral law introducing a mixed system of proportional allocation and first-past-the-post and the inclusion of constituencies which have not been used before. This introduces an element of unpredictability and means the polling will probably be wrong.
What happened in the election’s run-up which might affect the results?
taly has experienced a long period of austerity, as well as being governed by unelected prime ministers, such as Monti, who led a technocratic
government. These conditions, as well as Italy’s increasing disaffection with politics, have resulted in the rise of anti-establishment politics
in the form of the Five Star Movement. This has been a long time coming, demonstrated in the falling voter turnouts and opinions polls outlining the low faith in government. The success of this movement has been remarkable, particularly considering their lack of media backing and use of the internet. Last year’s constitutional referendum and the opportunism alongside it will undoubtedly affect the results of this election. The Five Star movement took advantage of the opportunity to knock Renzi down and boosting their own standing.
What are the key issues?
Immigration has been central to all parties’ campaigns, yet no party has proposed realistic solutions. Identity politics has been played out and many politicians have harnessed the powerful rhetoric associated with immigration to mobilise votes. Salvini has transformed the League from a regional to a national party and has used the ‘Trump playbook’ to play on questions of identity and whiteness. Italy has taken the massive brunt of immigration, and Europe is often blamed for this. Despite this, and the unpopularity of the Euro, most parties have moderated their language on Europe, making it less of a key issue for this election. This is probably as a result of Brexit, which has had a moderating effect on Salvini and the Five Star Movement who have pulled back on their proposed referendum.
By: Antonia
Longrigg
IMAGE SOURCE: MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES