‘Close the Ports to African Migrants and Asian Rice!’: The Politics of Agriculture and Migration and the Rise of a ‘New’ Right‐Wing Populism in Italy

Abstract

This article contributes to the debate on the rural dimensions of the current global surge of right-wing populism through an analysis and genealogy of the political discourse of Matteo Salvini's Lega on agriculture and migrant farm labour. In 2018-2019, this party emerged as one of the most successful radical right populist parties in Italy and Western Europe. After a description of the Italian political debate in the fields of agriculture and migration over the last two decades, we analyse how the issues of agriculture, food and migrant farm labour are articulated in the Lega's discourse in relation to the ideological features of nativism, authoritarianism, populism as well as neomercantilism and corporatism. We argue that agriculture and food are central in the representation of the 'Italian' cultural identity as proposed by the Lega. Moreover, we contend that the Lega has disarticulated and rearticulated 'old' ideas-such as the protection of 'Made in Italy' foodin a 'new' nativist discourse. The article is based upon a discourse analysis of speeches and documents produced by this party since 2013.

The Legality of the Anti-Migrant Actions of the Italian and of the Hungarian Governments: It Is More Than Just Law. The Necessity to Reform Existing Rules

“…International Law does not confer to any individual any right to migrate to a foreign state in order to enjoy better living standards. 26 Hence, purely economic migrants do not have any right to enter any EU country, unless, of course, there is a specific country willing to accept them.…”

How Rural is Rural Populism? On the Spatial Understanding of Rurality for Analyses of Right‐wing Populist Election Success in Germany*

“…Therefore, when studying right‐wing populism at the spatial level with the inclusion of the aspect of rurality, it is necessary to take into account the specific policy approaches of the right‐wing populist party under study, and to consider the party's strategy for appealing to rural areas. Furthermore, we note that while these previous studies focused on rural areas and sought to explain the spatial relevance of their support for right‐wing populists, most did not define rurality explicitly (e.g., Berlet and Sunshine 2019; Edelman 2020; Iocco et al 2020; Lubarda 2020; Mamonova et al 2020; Montenegro de Wit et al 2021). Therefore, it is not clear when an area is considered rural.…”

“…For example, the concept of national identity promoted by Jobbik is heavily based on centuries‐old traditions of rural culture, and on the idea of thriving by using produce made in the home country (Lubarda 2020). Similarly, in Italy, the leader of Lega, Matteo Salvini, stated in front of supporters: “We want to eat and drink the fruits of our work, the fruits of our land, from Trento to Palermo” and “not those arriving from the other side of the world” (Iocco et al 2020:743). Thus, Salvini described agricultural and food‐producing rural areas as essential sources of national identity (Iocco et al 2020).…”

“…Similarly, in Italy, the leader of Lega, Matteo Salvini, stated in front of supporters: “We want to eat and drink the fruits of our work, the fruits of our land, from Trento to Palermo” and “not those arriving from the other side of the world” (Iocco et al 2020:743). Thus, Salvini described agricultural and food‐producing rural areas as essential sources of national identity (Iocco et al 2020). At the same time, as the example of the armed citizen militias of the decentralized Patriot movement in the U.S. shows, people who have a right‐wing national identity and a xenophobic attitude live mainly in rural areas, as has been shown to be part of a historical continuity (Berlet and Sunshine 2019).…”

“…Similarly, in Ukraine in 2019, right‐wing populist parties attempted to win votes by making agricultural demands in response to growing rural resentment among farmers due to their fear of land grabs in the course of land reforms aimed at opening up the market (Mamonova et al 2020). Moreover, in Italy, the government formed by the Lega party criticized the EU for “not defend[ing] Italian farmers against unfair international competition, thus threatening both the economic sustainability and the cultural relevance of Italian agriculture” (Iocco, Lo Cascio, and Perrotta 2020:743). While Turkey is not part of the EU, it is in its geographical neighborhood.…”