Italian discontent and right‐wing populism: determinants, geographies, patterns

Abstract

The geographical patterns of the Italian electoral discontent have been strengthened by the European elections of 2019. The growing populist sentiments have been fuelled by the political programmes focusing on national‐popular issues, which have pushed the escalation of the right‐wing sovereign/nationalist political parties. While the literature has stressed that long‐term socioeconomic structural decline is among the main reasons feeding the rise of the European distrust, little is yet known about the micro‐scale populist voting patterns in Italy. Through a parametric approach with linear models, the main determinants of discontent, at municipal level, are revealed and, specifically, it results that (un)employment, long‐term cultural change and immigration are the main drivers of the right‐wing populism intensity growth in the European elections of 2014 and 2019.

A portrait of Italian ‘Family houses’: diversified heritage in a redefined territorial and demographic context

“…The focus of public policies on other territories, firstly on the more dynamic cities and metropolitan areas, and secondly on peripheral areas with critical shrinkage dynamics and fragility, has left a considerable part of the 'intermediate' Italy in the shadows. This part is subject to growing social unease, as regards life projects and expectations that gradually fade from one generation to the next, but also investments and family assets that devaluate, and may bring out behaviours of social and political claim (Lanzani and Zanfi 2018;Ardeni 2020;Mariotti and Di Matteo 2020). Knowing that it will be hard to direct their development, adequate representation of these parts of the country becomes essential.…”

A fuzzy-hybrid analysis of citizens’ perception toward immigrants in Europe

“…Although Italy is one of the members that signed the treaty of Rome, it obtains OTISI values similar to the first macro area, with lower figures than other countries, such as Slovenia, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Internal socio-demographic and political factors can be the cause of such a result (Di Matteo and Mariotti 2021).…”

One country, two populist parties: Voting patterns of the 2018 Italian elections and their determinants

“…Both “people” and “places” matter. The role of policies, or better, their “non role” (i.e., inability) in meeting the needs of both the “weakest” people and places (see also di Matteo & Mariotti, 2020, for Italy), that is more peripheral areas and the South of Italy are the main drivers of the Italian discontent.…”