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ELECTION

European elections: Who can I vote for in Italy and what are the big issues?

The European election campaign is hotting up in Italy – but who should you vote for, and why are these elections so important?

Published: 30 April 2019 15:49 CEST
Updated: 1 May 2019 14:38 CEST
European elections: Who can I vote for in Italy and what are the big issues?
The European elections will take place from 23-26 May 2019. Photo: Depositphotos

European elections usually get a pretty low turnout, but this time is expected to be different. Voters across Europe realise there's a lot at stake.

The Brexit fiasco has polarised and strengthened opinions on the EU, and populism and the radical right are on the march across the bloc.

Many political commentators expect radical right-wing and Eurosceptic parties like Italy's League to make big gains at the European parliament this time around. Populist parties too hope to change the political landscape.

READ ALSO: Falling turnout at European elections: the reasons

League leader Matteo Salvini is one of the loudest voices among the European right-wing parties saying they want to “create a new Europe” more to their liking.

His party, the League, has been attempting to form an “international group of nationalists” across Europe, though it hasn't gained much traction,

Five Star Movement leader Luigi di Maio speaking to populist party supporters in Poland this week. Photo: AFP

And the Five Star Movement, which forms part of Italy's ruling coalition government alongside the League, is hoping that a new grouping of populists could shift the distribution of power in a future European parliament.

For Brits living across Europe, many of whom feel voiceless and ignored by British politicians over Brexit, the European election is seen as a chance to protest and to voice support for remaining in the European Union.

Can I vote?

All EU citizens are entitled to vote in either their home country or the country where they live. Registration for voting has now closed in Italy, but if you are already registered you can vote.

British citizens can still register to vote in the UK if they are not already registered, but will need to hurry up as registration closes on May 7th. Find out how to register in the UK here.

What are the big issues in Italy?

Judging by the current political rhetoric in Italy, you might imagine that by far the biggest concern among Italians would be immigration.

But polls show that Italians are much more worried about unemployment, with almost 50 percent saying it was the most important issue – way above the European average of 20 percent.

Immigration was the second biggest concern for Italians, with more than 30 percent of respondents saying it was their main worry.

However, the study found that voters in Italy, Spain and Greece are more worried about fellow nationals leaving their country than they are about new arrivals.

READ ALSO: European elections in Italy: Five things to watch

Who can I vote for?

These are the eight parties officially registered to field candidates for the European elections in Italy.

  • The Democratic Party (Partito Democratico) – Italy's former ruling party, which has suffered a dramatic drop in popularity since it was elected in 2014, PD is a social democratic party now led by Nicola Zingerotti. They currently have 29 MEPS. 
  • Forza Italia – The conservative party led by disgraced ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi, who remains determined to make another comeback, and says he will continue campaigning despite currently being in ill health. Forza Italia aims to fight populism, while staying on good terms with Salvini's League. The party currently has 12 MEPS.
  • The Five Star Movement (Movimento Cinque Stelle) – The populist party that is currently in government as part of a ruling coalition with the League is led by Luigi di Maio, who is also Italy's co-Deputy Prime Minister and Labour Minister. Di Maio has nominated five female candidates to lead his lists, all of whom were formerly unknown to voters: an entrepreneur, a professor, two civil servants and a journalist. M5S currently have 11 MEPS.
  • The League (La Lega) – The right-wing populist party currently in a ruling coalition with M5S and led by Matteo Salvini, who is also Italy's co-Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister. Salvini tops the list for his party in all five Italian constituencies, despite saying he has no intention of returning to the European Parliament. The League currently has six MEPs.
  • Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) – A national conservative party led by Giorgia Meloni. They're known as the party fielding Mussolini's great-grandson as a candidate. They currently have five MEPs.'
  • The Left (La Sinistra) – Not a party, but a left-wing coalition of parties formed to take part in the 2019 European Parliament election. The main members are the Italian Left and the Communist Refoundation Party. They now have three MEPs
  • Green Europe – A green and progressive coalition of political parties in Italy taking part in the 2019 European Parliament election in connection with the European Green Party. It has two MEPs.
  • More Europe – A centrist, liberal, pro-European party in Italy's centre-left coalition. The party's leader is Benedetto Della Vedova. It has two MEPs.

Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's League, hopes right wing populism will change Europe. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Who is tipped to win?

Salvini's League is expected to make huge gains, with polls projecting they'll take 26 seats in the European Parliament – a huge increase on the six it currently has. Italian political analysts also believe the party will do well following recent local elections in Italy, after victories for the right-wing bloc the League is part of.

They're expected to be followed by their populist national government coalition partners M5S, and then PD, according to the poll by Quorum/Youtrend.

Italy votes on Sunday May 26th.

Would you like to see more political stories in The Local? If so, do you have any suggestions? Let us know.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about taking part in the European elections

 

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POLITICS

How much control does Giorgia Meloni’s government have over Italian media?

There's been renewed debate over the state of press freedom in Italy following warnings that Meloni's administration is seeking "control" of Italy's media. But what's behind these reports?

Published: 9 April 2024 13:13 CEST
How much control does Giorgia Meloni's government have over Italian media?

Press freedom is at the centre of fresh debate in Italy this week after Spanish newspaper El País on Saturday published an article titled “Meloni wants all the media power in Italy.”

The report, which was picked up by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, suggests that the Italian prime minister and her right-wing executive is looking to “monopolise” national print and broadcast outlets

It follows reports in English-language media recently describing how Meloni is accused of trying to stamp her authority on Italian arts and media in what critics call a “purge” of dissenting voices.

Meloni and members of her administration have long faced accusations of trying to silence journalists and intimidate detractors. Media organisations say this often takes the form of high-profile politicians bringing lawsuits against individual journalists, and cite the defamation case brought by Meloni against anti-mafia reporter Roberto Saviano in 2023 as a prime example.

READ ALSO: Six things to know about the state of press freedom in Italy

Discussions over media independence aren’t new in Italy, as the country has consistently ranked poorly in the annual Press Freedom reports by Reporters without Borders in recent years. Italy came in 41st out of 180 in the 2023 ranking, which made it the worst country in western Europe for press freedom.

But what’s behind the recent allegations that the government is trying to exert a more direct influence?

Meloni, Porta a Porta

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Italian national TV show Porta a Porta in Rome on April 4th 2024. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

National television

The article from El País accuses Meloni’s cabinet of effectively controlling Italy’s two biggest national broadcasters: state-owned RAI and commercial broadcaster Mediaset.

While Mediaset and its three main channels (Rete 4, Canale 5 and Italia 1) have long been seen as ‘loyal’ to Meloni’s executive – the network was founded by the late Silvio Berlusconi, whose Forza Italia party continues to be a key member of the ruling coalition – the government’s ties with public broadcaster RAI are more complex.

Unlike state-owned broadcasters in other European countries, RAI is not controlled by a regulatory body but rather by the government itself, which means that the network has always been particularly susceptible to political influences. 

But Meloni’s cabinet is accused of exerting unprecedented power over the broadcaster following the replacement of former top executives with figures considered closer to the government.

Salvini, RAI

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini speaks with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa during the talk show Porta a Porta, broadcast on Italian channel Rai 1. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP

Last May, Carlo Fuortes resigned as RAI’s CEO saying that he couldn’t possibly “accept changes opposed to RAI’s interests”. He was replaced by centrist Roberto Sergio, who in turn appointed Giampaolo Rossi – a “loyalist” of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party – as the network’s general director. 

Sergio and Rossi’s appointment was closely followed by a general management reshuffle which saw figures close to the government occupy key positions within the company. This led to critics and journalists dubbing the network ‘TeleMeloni’.

Print media 

Besides concerns over its sway on Italy’s main broadcast networks, Meloni’s executive is currently under heavy scrutiny following the rumoured takeover of Italy’s AGI news agency by the right-wing Angelucci publishing group. 

The group is headed by Antonio Angelucci, an MP for Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League party, and owner of three right-wing newspapers: Il Giornale, Libero and Il Tempo.

News of the potential takeover from Angelucci sparked a series of strikes and demonstrations from the news agency’s journalists in recent weeks, with reporters raising concerns over the independence and autonomy of journalists in the event of an ownership change.

The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party Elly Schlein weighed in on the matter last week, saying that the sale of Italy’s second-largest news agency to a ruling coalition MP would be “inadmissible”.

Further debate over press freedom in the country emerged in early March after three journalists from the left-wing Domani newspaper were accused of illegally accessing and publishing private data regarding a number of high-profile people, including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s girlfriend. 

The newspaper has so far condemned the investigation, saying it is “a warning to Domani and all journalists” and a further threat to media independence in a country ranked amongst the worst in Europe for press freedom.

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