voters are interested in the economy, not politicians’ ties to Russia

In Italy, the parties are accelerating their campaigning ahead of the early parliamentary elections in September. Former Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini sought momentum for the elections on Friday by visiting the island of Lampedusa, which is at the center of the migration issue.

Salvini and the party he leads, the Northern League, are trying to get into power with a familiar recipe: by opposing immigration. Salvini claims that immigration was better controlled when he was still interior minister.

Lampedusa, Sicily, has long been a gateway to Europe for migrants. The island is located closer to the North African coast than the Italian mainland and is especially popular with smugglers operating in Libya.

Smugglers charge migrants aspiring to Europe large sums of money for the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.

There are dozens of graves of immigrants and refugees who tried to reach Europe in the Lampedusa island cemetery.

This summer (you switch to another service) At times, the Lampedusa reception center has had many times more migrants than the center could accommodate. Right-wing politicians who oppose immigration try to take advantage of this situation.

A big threat to Salvini’s dreams of power has appeared from the right. Leader of the far-right Italian Brothers party Giorgia Meloni has grown in popularity with conservative opinions and aggressive use of social media.

Salvini’s Northern Alliance and Giorgia Meloni’s Italian Brothers belong to the same right-wing coalition. Senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Marco Siddi estimates that Meloni has benefited from the fact that his party is the only one of the major parties that has been in opposition for a long time.

Meloni has managed to become the number one name of the right when Salvini has lost his popularity.

– He has been more charismatic than Salvini – and Berlusconi, Siddi says.

Siddi says that Meloni’s rhetoric criticizing the current rulers has sunk in with many Italians.

– Of course, Meloni himself has been part of the system for a long time. He was a minister in one of Berlusconi’s governments. Many don’t seem to remember this, says Siddi.

Politico magazine in opinion survey monitoring (you switch to another service) The Brothers of Italy party holds the top spot. The party’s support has risen steadily since the beginning of the year, while the support curves of the Northern Alliance and the Five Star Movement have turned downward.

Also the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi led by Forza Italia is far behind.

Giorgia Meloni has spoken out against immigration perhaps even more strongly than Salvini. Among other things, he has called to deport all migrants and to sink the ship of a humanitarian organization helping migrants.

Italians have also become familiar with Meloni’s frequently repeated slogan:

– I am a woman, a mother, an Italian and a Christian, and you cannot take that away from me.

Meloni appeals to the elderly by opposing abortion and expanding the rights of sexual minorities. He has publicly tried to get rid of the Italian Brothers party’s previous connections with neo-fascist political movements.

Marco Siddi estimates that Meloni’s possible rise to the position of prime minister would hardly change Italy’s international position, but domestically there could be changes in policies regarding immigration and minority rights, among other things.

The continental plates of Italy’s domestic politics have also been moved by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Matteo Salvini’s previous sympathies with the Russian president Vladimir Putin there has been a certain degree of burden on me.

Italian media has recently covered (you switch to another service)whether both Salvini and Berlusconi conspired with the Russians Prime Minister Mario Draghi overthrow of the government.

The Italian government fell just over two weeks ago.

Draghi decided to resign because the populist Five Star Movement withdrew its support from him and Draghi was not ready to compromise with the right wing of the government.

Dragh’s government remained in place for about a year and a half. The Rainbow Government had ministers from six parties.

Since Giorgia Meloni is in the same alliance with Salvini and Berlusconi, their Russia-related scandals can erode her credibility as well. However, Meloni has clearly stated that he considers Russia to be the aggressor in Ukraine.

Senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Marco Siddi considers that the Russian upheavals will not decide the elections. According to Siddi, this is because, firstly, nothing very aggravating has come to light and secondly, voters are more interested in other issues.

– The voters’ main concern is the economic situation, says Siddi.

According to the researcher, climate change is also on Italians’ lips after the hot summer.

Siddi believes that the center-leftists certainly try to use the uproar related to Russia to their own advantage.

Whoever the prime minister of the future government is, he will face the same, if not even tougher challenges than the late Draghi government.

Medicines should be found somewhere to support citizens in the middle of the inflation and energy crisis that is plaguing the whole of Europe. This should be done in such a way that the economy of Italy, which is already heavily indebted, would not be driven into even deeper difficulties.

Italy will hold early elections on September 25. Originally, the next election was supposed to be at the beginning of next year.