Italy and the European Union: the discontinuity of the Conte government (original) (raw)

The EU Crisis Seen through the Lenses of the Italian Transition

2013

After two months of instability following the political elections that took place at the end of February 2013, Italy has now a „grand coalition‟ government that brings together the two main parties of the centre-left and of the centre-right, plus some forces of civil society. This executive is led by current Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Such an agreement excludes the Five Star Movement created by Beppe Grillo, which is especially relevant since it was the first party, in terms of absolute votes, at the last elections. Berlusconi, who seemed to be in decline during the Mario Monti experience, is now dictating his conditions for political reforms to the current government. The Italian case is extremely revealing of the larger political processes that are going on at the European level. I will here focus on two aspects. The first one is the de-politisation of the political nature of the integration process and its effects, by reason of its specific character and history. The second is ...

Intertwining 'Forms of Government' Between Rome and Brussels: The Influence of EU Dynamics on the Handover from Conte I to Conte II Cabinet

This working paper is based on the observation of the close intertwining between the Italian ‘form of government’ and the institutional dynamics of the European Union (EU). It is an intertwining that is often denied by the same political forces and public debate, but which is directly derived from how the EU institutions are designed and their close and inescapable connection with the institutions of each Member State. In the light of this assumption, the working paper analyzes the events that took place at EU level in the aftermath of the elections for the European Parliament held between 23 and 26 May 2019 and those that gave rise to the crisis of the Italian government, which occurred in August 2019, with the handover between the Conte I and the Conte II cabinet. It is argued that the events of the latter government crisis are fully understandable only in the light of the intertwining of the Italian and European ‘forms of government’. The crisis was indeed determined by the different European policies of the two parties composing the yellow-green majority and the stalemate in which the League found itself: a clear winner in the European Parliament elections in Italy, but a loser at the European level. As a conclusion, again from an institutional viewpoint, the strengthening of the Italian President of the Council deriving from its ‘European role’ is highlighted and confirmed, in this case, even with reference to a technocratic figure and a newcomer in Italian politics.

Italy and Euroscepticism – political uncertainty gives way to temporary political relief

Australian and New Zealand journal of European studies, 2021

The 2018 elections in Italy produced an electoral outcome that caused much concern for the EU and often led to confrontation between Rome and Brussels, particularly over budget spending and migration policy. The coalition between 'populist' Five-Star Movement and the far-right League (Lega Nord) demonstrated a nationalist agenda and strong anti-EU sentiments. With over a year in power, the government saw the emergence of Matteo Salvini, whose dominance as the agenda setter continued to grow through his tough stance against migration. This was evidenced by the increased popularity and favourable results in the European Parliamentary elections of May 2019. The most recent of political crises, in Italy which saw Salvini undermine his government to trigger new national elections to win the majority has backfired and left him sidelined with the creation of a new coalition between PD and the Five-Star Movement. This paper wishes to highlight the opportunity for the EU to show solidarity with Italy by supporting the new government on issues such as migration management and allowing flexibility on its budget. Taking this chance to improve Italian citizens' attitudes towards the union is imperative to reducing the risk of Salvini returning to power.

Through the Lenses of Italy’s Euroscepticism or a Tale for the Future of the European Integration Project

ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS MARIAE CURIE-SKŁODOWSKA LUBLIN – POLONIA, 2018

The relationship between the European Union (EU) and its member states have been characterized by many significant changes when the impact of the Euroscepticism started to mark its presence in the number of countries, founding members of the European Union. The author will try to analyze the Eurosceptic developments in Italy in the last years, with a particular focus on the 2018 when the new "yellow-green" government coalition was formed. The unpredictable results waving to the anti-establishment political elites coming to power demonstrate that the shifts in "national lenses" started to be a trend with unpredictable results not only for Italy, but for the whole EU. By analyzing the wide-range levels of Euroscepticism, the author will try to reveal how the multi-faceted concept of Euroscepticism casts shades on the European integration project.

Italy and the EU in historical perspective. ACES Working Papers, August 2009

2009

This paper will deal with relations between Italy and the European Communities in a historical perspective. It will take into consideration both exogenous and endogenous variables. As regards the exogenous, relations with the United States are of particular relevance. As for the endogenous, the focus will be on the way political parties have perceived the process of European integration. Here, one can distinguish three periods: from the origins to the late 1970s; from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s and from the mid 1990s to today. The first period was characterized by the opposition of the left to European and Atlantic integration, on the basis of ideological contraposition; the second witnessed a shared consensus by all political parties on integration - especially European; in the latest period, domestic political divisions at times lead parties to oppose European integration.

Italy's Migration Policy: A Self-Defeating Approach Spells Marginalisation in Europe

Rome, IAI, July 2019, 5 p. (IAI Commentaries ; 19|44), 2019

Italy’s coalition government led by Giuseppe Conte and composed of the Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle – M5S) and the League party is celebrating itself as a transformational force on migration policy compared to its predecessor. However, its policy choices, combined with a broader nationalist push and a neglect of careful diplomacy in relations with traditional allies and neighbours, have caused Italy to progressively lose influence and credibility at both the European and multilateral level. It is also a self-defeating approach, given that ultimately Italy will need external support in order to address migratory flows.

The rising importance of non-economic policy dimensions and the formation of the Conte government in Italy

Italian Political Science, 2018

Due to key differences in the policy priorities of the League and the Five Star Movement, the formation of the yellow-green cabinet appointed in Italy after the general election of March 2018 is inadequately explained by interpreting the main axis of party competition in terms of the classical left-right divide. Relying on a multi-dimensional spatial approach to party competition, this article attempts to account for the formation of the Conte cabinet by looking at the policy positions of political parties on a number of substantive policy dimensions. We analyse changes in the dimensionality of the policy space of party competition by using data from an expert survey fielded in the aftermath of the 2018 election and by comparing these data with similar expert survey data collected since 2001. Results highlight dramatic changes in the last two decades, showing a gradual decline in the salience of economic issues vis-à-vis an increase in the salience of non-economic domains such as Euro-pean integration and immigration. We show that the formation of the Conte executive can be understood in light of the closeness of the two coalition partners' policy positions on non-economic policy dimensions.