Elections to the Italian

Mathieu Bock-Côté

Tuesday, 6 march 2018 05:00

UPDATE
Tuesday, 6 march 2018 05:00

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The day before yesterday, the Italians vote to renew their Parliament and set up a new government.

Rarely will an Italian elections have attracted so much interest outside of Italy. And for good reason.

Immigration

The big question that has dominated the election campaign was that of the massive immigration which is sweeping Italy and the wider Europe.

The extent to which a company subject to migratory pressure, overwhelming upsetting the social structure can remain liveable ?

Three blocks clashed.

The one that came in mind was a coalition of the right with this refusal of massive immigration. But it has not reached the 40 % support necessary to form the government.

It was also in the race, the five stars Movement, a populist party baroque critique of Europe through which the Italians expressed their rejection of the elites.

Finally, in the third place, there was the left coalition, which collapsed.

What can we learn from these elections ? First, that the identity issues are today the most burning. The diversity imposed by force, and without taking account of the capacity of integration raises social tensions and becoming more sharply polarised political life.

One gains nothing to move away from issues of identity. The fear of becoming a stranger at home haunt european political life, and it has nothing to do with fantasy, irrational.

It is necessary to give a political response to be reasonable in this concern. And multiculturalism is the wrong answer.

Then, as the disconnect between the common man and the political class is worsening everywhere. The Brexit to the election of Trump, the rise of populism to the decline of civic voters, non-voters, to confirm that a mentality of protest in the West extends.

Time

In eastern Europe, the political parties that claim to embody the popular revolt succeeded in being elected or to participate in governmental coalitions.

We change time. Our certainties of peacetime crack. The policy becomes tragic.