Italian Populism Is … Popular
Take a look at this clip from today’s big state funeral in Genoa for victims of the bridge collapse there. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of the right-wing populist League and Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement were cheered by the crowd as they arrived at the event:
Voglio meritarmi con i fatti questo affetto e questa fiducia che mi hanno #commosso oggi a #Genova, fra i parenti delle vittime e tanti cittadini comuni: il mio impegno è lottare per #giustizia, verità, sicurezza, futuro. pic.twitter.com/bijoDIV4Qi
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) August 18, 2018
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Though they are leaders of the coalition government, Salvini and Di Maio represent the outsider parties in Italian politics. Reader Giuseppe Scalas, who lives in Milan, explains why this is a big deal:
Well, I’m astonished.
I have always strong reservations about any politician and about power in general. It’s the first time I see government representatives being cheered at a state funeral. They normally get booed. Or, of they are lucky, they are shown coldness.
It gives you a graphic picture of how much ordinary people felt forsaken and how much they consider the current government as their own.
Interesting times.
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