| Author (Person) | Rocha, Frederico |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Cardiff EDC |
| Series Details | December 2017 to March 2018 |
| Publication Date | 23/02/2018 |
| Content Type | News |
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Further information: Italy's President Sergio Mattarella dissolved the Italian Parliament on 28 December 2017, paving the way for a legislative election to take place on 4 March 2018. The election would take place under a new and contested electoral reform (Rosatellum law) adopted in October 2017. + Adoption of electoral reform, October 2017 Electoral campaign Analysts expected four political parties to feature strongly but for no one party to secure a sufficient majority to govern on their own. The main parties in the running were: + Democratic Party (PD) (Partito Democratico) These main political parties that struggled to reach the 40% of votes in order to govern were divided in Centre-Right, Centre-Left, Left and the anti-establishment party. The first group was composed of Forza Italia (Go Italy) represented by Silvio Berlusconi who could not run for the election because he had been charged of tax fraud in 2013 and he intended to put forward Antonio Tajani’s name for the Prime Minister position. Then, the Centre-Right was formed by Lega Nord (Northern League) led by Matteo Salvini and Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) represented by Giorgia Meloni. These three parties formed a coalition so they shared a general electoral programme but they also had separate policy proposals. The topics they agreed with were the introduction of a flat tax (instead of income tax), the abolition of taxes on savings and on first house; a minimum pension of 1000€ per month and pensions for mothers; more support to families and people with disabilities; more funds to school and university; more power to local autonomy; innovative technology for energy efficiency and renewable energy; repatriation of illegal immigrants, limitation of immigration and a 'Marshall Plan' for Africa; more power to Italian Constitution over EU Law. However, they had different points of view as regards some key issue such as the flat tax (Berlusconi wanted to set it at 20-25% while Salvini at 15%) or the Euro (Salvini wanted to leave the euro but Berlusconi did not agree). The core of the Centre-Left was Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD). The programme of this party was a sort of continuation of what Renzi had done in his precedent term. It was based on the creation of new and better job opportunities; the establishment of a minimum wage for anyone; support to families with children and people with disabilities; improvement of education and more funds to university and research; lower taxes and simplification of tax payment;, investments on Italy: tourism, transport; investments on renewable energy; European integration. The left wing was represented by Liberi e Uguali (Free and Equal) headed by Pietro Grasso, who had left the Democratic Party and then created this new party. Its main objectives were spread of democracy and elimination of inequalities; support to families and people with disabilities; improvement of education and abolition of university fees; 'Green New Deal'; fighting tax evasion and introduction of the web tax and the 'Tobin tax' on financial transactions; ius soli: citizenship for children born in Italy from foreign parents. The last party taken into consideration was Movimento 5 stelle (Five-star movement) founded by Beppe Grillo but led by Luigi Di Maio. The most important features of his programme were the reduction of laws; the reduction of costs of politics (for example cut of parliamentarians’ pensions); new job opportunities and professional figures; abolition of tax on income up to 10.000€; establishment of a minimum pension of 780€ per month; support to families with compensation for cost of baby-sitter, diapers etc.; more funds for public healthcare; fighting corruption and mafia; regulation of immigration; green economy. Controversial issues In the context of the election, three main controversial issues emerged. The first one was about immigration and, especially after the shootings in Macerata (3 February) by a man of far-right ideology, debates and clashes were more frequent. Linked to the question of migrants there was that one about ius soli and ius sanguinis. The former expression means that the citizenship is given to anyone born in Italy, also from foreign parents. The latter expression indicates that citizenship is granted only for children who have at least an Italian parent. This last position was backed by the Centre-Right. Another topic of discussion was the European Union and the Euro. Should Italy leave it? At the moment of the election only Salvini (Northern League) supported this solution. The other centre-right parties and the Five-star movement became more cautious about this topic. Media reports and analyses of the period leading up to the Parliamentary election in Italy on 4 March 2018. |
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| Countries / Regions | Italy |
