Crisis strengthens Italian right

Crisis strengthens Italian right

According to a recent poll, right-wing parties in Italy have managed to retain their strong support. At present, 46.7 per cent of Italian voters would cast their ballots to one of the three centre-right parties, the Lega Nord, the Brothers of Italy (FdI) and Forza Italia. The latter s president, Silvio Berlusconi, has said the government must take resolute action to secure the biggest amounts possible from the EU s economic recovery programmes.

ECONOMY POLITICS MAY 20. 2020 11:37

Forza Italia chief Silvio Berlusconi has called on Giuseppe Conte s government to take immediate action to help Italian businesses hit hard by the novel coronavirus crisis. According to Berlusconi, the left-wing government should primarily support artisans, tradesmen, craftsmen and the private entrepreneurs with non-refundable grants. He says entrepreneurs who have lost a significant portion of their income due to the two-and-a-half-month lockdown should be given tax exemptions until the end of 2020. He also urged the government to immediately transfer the unemployment benefits to those left without a job, according to the online edition of the daily Il Giornale.

Germany and France announced the establishment of a 500-billion-euro recovery fund to boost the economies of EU member states, and Italy will likely be among its major beneficiaries.  Berlusconis stressed, however, that the Italian government must act swiftly to „receive not only 500, but 1,000 billion euros” from the resources made available by the EU and the European Central Bank (ECB). The politician also said that his party „has another 150 proposals to restart Italy” and he expressed hope that Conte s cabinet „will no longer just formally pay attention to what we say.”

Support for center-right exceeds 46 per cent
 
According to opinion polls, Italy s center-right parties – the Lega Nord led by Matteo Salvini, the Brothers of Italy (FdI) headed by by Giorgia Meloni and Berlusconi s Forza Italia – have kept their support levels above 46 per cent, meaning the right has emerged from the crisis stronger than before. A recent survey by the SWG polling institute suggests that, although Lega s voter base has shomewhat declined over the past two weeks, it still stands at 27 per cent, well above the ruling left-wing Democratic Party1s (PD) 20.7 per cent. FdI has maintained its 14% backing, while support for Berlusconi s party hovers around 5.7 to 6.0 per cent. The popularity of the junior governing party, the leftist Five Star Movement (M5S), fell by 0.7 per cent in one week and currently stands at 16 per cent.

Silvio Berlusconi stressed that his party and the other right-wing movements have acted as „responsible opposition parties” during the novel coronavirus crisis. He added that center-right parties are preparing to hold a joint demonstration on 2 June to celebrate the Italian National Day, similar to the one organised last September. „The protest will send a strong symbolic message, because we stand by Italy as it is getting ready for a new start,” Berlusconi said.

ECONOMY POLITICS

Tags:

economy, economy rescue, eu rescue package, forza italia, giuseppe conte, italian centre-right, italy, right-wing party, silvio berlusconi