Highlights
– April 14, 2008 Silvio Berlusconi wins third term as Prime Minister
– Garners win with assistance of far-right, anti-immigrant Northern League
– Northern League volleys for Parliamentary seats, touts strong anti-foreigner agenda
– Berlusconi indicates he will support Northern League power
As we previously reported, on April 14, 2008, Italian media mogul and two-time Prime Minister (PM) Silvio Berlusconi garnered his third-term win as PM (Previous Report). Notably, Berlusconi’s re-election victory marked a significant breakthrough for the country’s Northern League, prompting concerns the far-right, anti-immigration regional party would unduly influence the re-installed PM’s agenda.
Berlusconi’s win, no doubt a result of the support he received from the Northern League, is surprising to some, however, strongly supported. In 2008, the party nearly doubled its vote, winning upwards of eight percent of the national vote. However, its successes do not stop with Berlusconi’s victory, as it is expected to attain a number of positions in the country’s new government.
The sudden support for Italy’s xenophobic, unyielding anti-immigrant Northern League may indicate a marked change in Italian politics and way of life, as Italy’s interior minister-to-be Roberto Maroni, a key Northern League personality, purportedly intends to ramp up policing and step up so-called “cleansing” of illegal immigrants. Further, to date, Berlusconi’s public statements have reinforced concerns that the Northern League will be successful in its efforts to gain power in the Italian government.
Profile: Northern League
Italy’s Northern League is known for its past campaign efforts in support of northern Italy’s secession from the whole of the country. However, facing an uphill battle, the party has taken up a similarly abrasive agenda; bringing an end to immigration in the country, a platform that has proved successful in the recent election wherein the party nearly doubled its presence in Parliament, beginning at a mere 4.5 percent in 2006 to 8.3 percent of the national vote in 2008. Following the re-election of PM Berlusconi, Northern League party leader, Umberto Bossi, declared, “We’re stronger than ever.”
Decidedly the party’s leader, Bossi, is at the helm of the third largest Parliamentary party and maintains a key position in Berlusconi’s government. Touting his party’s tough stance on immigration and plans for the country’s future, Bossi stated, “One of the first things to do is to close the frontiers and set up more camps to identify foreign citizens who don’t have jobs and are forced into a life of crime.”
Exploiting the country’s growing crime rates, the Northern League has to date been successful in its efforts to blame immigrants for the country’s woes, placing much of the blame on Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants. Purportedly, estimates indicate the number of Romanians residing in Italy is approximately 550,000 out of a total population of 60 million. However, statistics suggest Romanian immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. To this end, according to recent reports, Romanians comprise 15 percent of Italy’s total prison population. Further, police statistics collected in 2007 indicate Romanians were at fault for more than 75 percent of all crimes occurring in Rome, including some 76 murders and approximately 2,000 robberies.
In 2007, following two high-profile rapes, violence erupted in the capital, leading former PM Romano Prodi to implement a decree permitting the expulsion of foreigners for reasons of “public security.” In accordance with the decree, all foreigners, including those from the European Union (EU), were subject to expulsion without trial, based on the decision by local populations in their communities that individuals in question were a threat. However, despite Prodi’s unorthodox efforts, fear consumed many Italians, an emotion that the Northern League grabbed as an opportunity to win both working-class and “white collar” voters, a population traditionally held by left-wing parties.
Northern League Volleys for Control
On April 21, 2008, former minister and Northern League member Roberto Calderoli announced his intention to return to government, striving to attain the position of Interior Minister. Calderoli, who resigned in 2006 in the wake of his appearance on television adorned in a tee-shirt containing controversial cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, is among four leading Northern League members named by Bossi as participants in Berlusconi’s future cabinet. Addressing the press following a meeting with the PM outside Berlusconi’s Milan home, Bossi stated, “I will be reform minister, Roberto Maroni will get the post of interior minister, Luca Zaia will be agriculture minister, and Roberto Calderoli will be deputy prime minister.”
Following his re-election victory, Berlusconi initially indicated he would move to announce his proposed 12-member cabinet as soon as possible. However, in recent days, the PM has backpedaled, stating he would complete the list only after receiving a formal mandate to form a government from Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The PM’s apparent change in plans underscores the possibility he is feeling pressure to fall to the demands from the Northern League to place its members in positions of prominence and power.
Outlook
To date, Berlusconi’s public statements have reinforced concerns that the Northern League will be successful in its efforts to gain power in the Italian government. To this end, the PM’s recent statements and shocking references to creating an “army of good” – a reference to intensified police forces – to combat the “army of evil”- a reference to immigrants- reflect both his own personal anti-foreigner attitude and the resurgence of these beliefs among the Italian population.
Further, as we previously reported, Western Europe continues to be significantly affected by the spread of Islamist radicalism across the region. Conversely, it is also plagued by a seemingly growing anti-foreigner/anti-Islam backlash (Previous Report). We continue to see far-right ideologists gaining prominence in Western Europe, as well as an increase in anti-foreigner and xenophobic attacks in the region. Far-right political parties and leaders such as Berlusconi often incite further anti-foreigner attitudes. Additionally, it is likely these attitudes will continue as more immigrants of Muslim faith immigrate to Western Europe.
