The Guardian view on Italy: running cities could take the shine off Five Star
Version 0 of 1. After he became Italy’s prime minister in 2014, 40-year-old Matteo Renzi was described as a poster boy for European social democracy, at a time when its forces were in decline across much of the continent. Young, cheerful, a talented communicator and a strong-willed reformist, Mr Renzi conquered an Italian electorate tired of older-generation politicians and the fallout of the financial crisis. Now, just over two years later, it’s not simply traditional mid-term difficulties that Mr Renzi has run into, but a new, growing mood of anti-establishment sentiment in Italy, whose full consequences have yet to play out – and it is a mood which provides many more questions than answers insofar as the country’s future is concerned. As in other parts of Europe, populist groups in Italy have capitalised on hostility towards “the system”. In a country with an authoritarian past as well as the more immediate poisonous legacy of the Berlusconi years, Mr Renzi’s rise had been seen as an antidote to the darker sides of Italian politics. He developed significant plans to transform the country, including its political set-up. Yet the victory on Sunday, in municipal elections, of the anti-elite Cinque Stelle (Five Star) movement has now reshuffled the cards, setting Italy on an uncertain course. That the Five Star winning candidates, in Rome and Turin, were two women in their thirties, newcomers who vowed to “restore trust” between voters and elected officials and overhaul local governance, could be seen as a sign of progress. Rome’s new mayor is Virginia Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer whose campaign focused on transparency and fighting corruption, in a capital often caught up in scandal. In Turin, 31-year-old Chiara Appendino surprised pundits by easily defeating a pro-Renzi candidate, in the home of the Fiat car industry, a traditional bastion of the left. Novelty and rejuvenation have no doubt strongly appealed to voters. But now, for the first time, the Five Star protest movement created in 2009 by the comedian and TV star Beppe Grillo, will be tested on its ability to administer large cities – as it sets its sights on going further, and competing for the highest office. The set-back for Mr Renzi is severe, just months ahead of a nationwide referendum on constitutional reform on which the Italian PM has staked his future. General elections are by 2018, and if Mr Renzi loses the October vote, they may come sooner. Five Star stands out among other European anti-establishment movements in that it can not easily be characterised as either left or right. It openly says it is neither. Its programme mixes privatisation with universal income for the poor, as well as a promise to hold a referendum on the euro. It promotes direct, online democracy and criticises all mainstream parties as a single, corrupt entity. There are clear parallels with Podemos in Spain – whose prospects will be measured in this Sunday’s general election – as well as with earlier versions of Syriza, in Greece. But one important contrast is that, although it is anti-globalisation, Five Star rejects references to radical left ideology. A further, deeper difference is that Beppe Grillo’s antics have included inflammatory remarks about immigrants “swamping Rome”, and recently, a racist, pathetic joke about London’s mayor Sadiq Khan. In the European parliament, Five Star representatives sit alongside Ukip’s. Nor is the spectacular success of Five Star on Sunday entirely disconnected from the old revolving-door politics of Italian politics. Its victory in Rome and especially Turin was helped by the fact that all the rightwing parties, including the extremist Northern League, officially rallied behind Five Star candidates to destabilise Mr Renzi. Despite the much-delayed return of economic growth in Italy, many citizens appear to have become weary of a prime minister whose optimistic tweets – “this time it’s working” or “Italy is back” – can grate. The gulf with grim day-to-day experience of the transport system or rubbish collection has taken a toll. Mr Renzi will no doubt attempt to fight back in the summer months, pointing out that the easy populist slogans of even the more sincere Five Star candidates won’t do much for the country’s grittiest problems. Taking the shine off Five Star is a precondition for Italy beginning to devise more serious solutions. |