
Italy

The Republic of Italy is a mid-range performing democracy, despite attaining high performance in three out of the four aggregated attributes of the Global State of Democracy Indices (GSoDI). The country continuously performs in the mid-range with regard to Impartial Administration. Italy has an advanced economy, although its overall economic growth has been stagnant since the 2008 financial crisis - a condition that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a precarious economic outlook and high unemployment. As a founding member of the European Union and member of various international institutions, including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the G20, the country has a significant role in regional and global affairs.
Italy has been characterized by instability and complex governance arrangements due to national unity governments, technocratic governments and a deeply rooted populist political culture that make it difficult for governments to hold power for long periods. High political party volatility has been the norm since the 1990s, when the party system collapsed due to the Tangentopoli scandal. The party system has also become increasingly polarized in recent years around two axes: anti-establishment and mainstream parties, and pro-European and Eurosceptic parties. The perfect bicameralism, referring to the Italian system in which the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate share the same powers in the legislation making process, has also contributed to instability. In recent years, the country has experienced a growing exclusionary debate, especially towards migrants and other minorities such as Roma and LGBTIQ+ people, which also extends to discussions on the Italian citizenship law. Economic issues are strongly present in the public and political debate due to the country’s public debt, in-work poverty, and the recent reduction in purchasing power. The demographic crisis of an ageing population and its economic effects further present a pressing issue for politics, in particular the debates about the Italian pension system. Italy is further marked by a strong divide between the wealthy North and an economically weaker South.
Italy’s relatively strong democratic performance belies the worrying trends related to several GSoDI attributes. In addition, the rise of illiberal forces in the country is unprecedented. Corruption has always been a key concern for the outlook of the country. Although improvements have taken place in recent years, political corruption has become increasingly entwined with Italian organized crime groups. The pervasiveness of the organised-crime landscape presents a further notable hurdle to the judicial system, despite significant improvements since the 1990s. Another area to watch is Media Integrity, which is at risk due to threats and attacks towards journalists and a concentration of traditional media ownership. Moreover, Civil Liberties should be observed over the coming years due to the persistence of exploitation and abuse of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, as well as the increase in recorded hate crimes and rhetoric. Lastly, consequences of climate change - such as extreme heat and the resulting droughts and wildfires - exacerbate existing problems and affect Italy’s already stagnant economy, in particular water availability and agriculture.
Monthly Updates
November 2022
The new Italian far-right government has refused to let 35 asylum seekers disembark from a rescue boat run by the German organization, SOS Humanity. The government used its new immigration policy, which is aimed at stopping the arrival of asylum seekers from North Africa. The Italian government also prevented 215 people from another refugee rescue ship, called the Geo Barents, to disembark. It further refused permission to dock to the Ocean Viking, a ship rescuing 234 refugees. In response to this, the French government has suspended a plan to take in 3,500 refugees currently in Italy. As the tension between Italy and France is growing over the issue, at the end of November the European Interior Ministers supported a plan to better coordinate the arrival of immigrants in Europe.
October 2022
Italy’s new ruling coalition is the first far-right-led one since the World War II’s end. Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), a party with neo-fascist origins, is the coalition’s dominant party. The government is expected to deal with major crisis following the soaring energy prices, increased cost of living and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Although this government will feature Italy’s first ever woman Prime Minister, only 25 per cent of Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet ministers are women – as compared to the two previous governments, which were comprised of 30 and 50 per cent women, respectively.
September 2022
The coalition that consists of two far-right political parties, Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega (League), as well as former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia, have won 44 per cent of the vote in the snap general election held on 25 September. Although Fratelli d’Italia was the top vote-getter, the failure of the fragmented left to form a coalition was a key factor that led to the (far-)right’s victory. Fratelli d’Italia was founded after World War II by Mussolini supporters, and while Meloni has stated that the party doesn’t have any connection with the fascist rhetoric anymore, critics worry that the party still includes fascist supporters. Meloni has particularly promised to defend “traditional family” and has targeted the “LGBT lobby,” immigrants and what she called an “Islamist violence” and “bureaucrats of Brussels.” The voter turnout was 64 per cent (nine points lower than the 2018 election), Italy’s lowest ever turnout for a general election.