Italy
Bolivia’s Morales and Brazil’s Bolsonaro collaborate in rendition of Cesare Battisti to Italy
By Bill Van Auken, 16 January 2019
Bolivia’s role in what amounted to an extra-judicial rendition is emblematic of the sharp rightward turn of what remains of Latin America’s “Pink Tide” governments.
Israel rolls out the welcome mat for Europe’s neo-fascists
By Bill Van Auken, 14 December 2018
Netanyahu’s hailing of Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Salvini as a “great friend of Israel” demonstrates the affinity between the Zionist state and neo-fascism.
Black Friday strikes hit Amazon in Europe
By our reporters, 24 November 2018
Amazon workers launched strikes and protests in Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and the UK.
Budget dispute between Italy and EU escalates
By Peter Schwarz, 22 November 2018
If the financial markets impose further interest-rate increases on Italian government bonds, it could lead to a chain reaction of bank bankruptcies across the whole of Europe.
Protests and strikes signal mounting hostility toward Italian government
By Allison Smith, 1 November 2018
A protest against deteriorating conditions in Rome followed on the heels of a 24-hour “Black Friday” general strike by public sector workers.
European Commission rejects Italy’s 2019 budget
By Alexandre Lantier and Marianne Arens, 24 October 2018
The EU’s first-ever decision to formally strike down the budget of a member state points to growing class and international tensions tearing the EU apart.
European Union and Rome fight over Italian budget
By Marianne Arens, 20 October 2018
In the conflict over the Italian budget, the EU Commission takes the side of the banks, stock exchanges and credit agencies, while the government pursues a course of militarism and attacks on immigrants and workers.
Italian Interior Minister Salvini orders removal of migrants from Riace
By Marianne Arens, 19 October 2018
The right-wing coalition government has ordered the removal of all migrants from the “village of hospitality” in southern Calabria.
050 Italy
18 October 2018
Italy: Arrest of Riace mayor sparks protests
By Allison Smith, 10 October 2018
The arrest of Domenico Lucano, the mayor of a small town in the Calabria region of Italy, sparked pro-immigrant protests across Italy this past weekend.
Anticapitalistas in Spain’s Podemos debate orienting to far-right Italian regime
By Alejandro López, 20 September 2018
While weakly criticising applause from Podemos of the Salvini government’s policies, the Pabloites are only concerned that it would expose them to criticism from the left.
Italian officials received prior warnings of catastrophic bridge collapse in Genoa
By Allison Smith and Marc Wells, 20 September 2018
The government and private bridge operator received repeated warnings about the bridge’s structural integrity.
Top Spanish pseudo-lefts hail Italian neo-fascist government
By Alejandro López, 18 September 2018
Weeks after Sahra Wagenknecht launched the anti-immigrant #Aufstehen movement, figures in Podemos are discussing alliances with right-wing forces.
Turkish lira crisis renews fears of Italian banking system collapse
By Allison Smith, 5 September 2018
Italy’s largest banks are heavily exposed to Turkey’s economy through nearly €20 billion in loans, many of which are going into default.
Italy’s far-right interior minister charged with kidnapping
By Marianne Arens, 30 August 2018
The state attorney in Agrigento is investigating Italy’s interior minister and chairman of the Lega (League), Matteo Salvini, on charges of deprivation of liberty, illegal detention and abuse of office.
25 August 2018
Political recriminations as death toll rises in Genoa bridge collapse
By Marianne Arens, 17 August 2018
Leaders of the right-wing coalition government of Lega and the FiveStars Movement rushed to the city to pretend concern for the victims ofthe tragedy.
Vehicle crashes claim lives of 16 migrant workers in Italy
By Allison Smith, 17 August 2018
The deadly vehicle crashes—caused by sheer greed for profit at the expense of the labourers—are linked to the extremely right-wing course of the government in Rome.
At least 35 killed in Italy bridge collapse
By Allison Smith, 15 August 2018
The death toll has reached 35, with at least seven seriously injured and 440 forced to evacuate their homes following a gas leak.
Unexpectedly restrained: Matteo Garrone’s Dogman
Based on a horrific 1988 murder in Rome
By Emanuele Saccarelli, 30 July 2018
Dogman is a serious attempt to deal with a difficult, and in this climate not especially promising subject.
Italy strands rescue ship Lifeline as EU refugee summit collapses
By Alex Lantier, 25 June 2018
This is only one of the horrors taking place in Mediterranean waters between Italy and Libya, as the EU moves to block refugee flows.
Italy’s interior minister announces plan to register Roma and Sinti
By Marianne Arens, 23 June 2018
Salvini’s project of a Roma card index recalls one of the darkest periods in European history, drawing its inspiration directly from the vicious measures of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime.
Right-wing smears against refugee aid workers in the Mediterranean
By Marianne Arens, 22 June 2018
The closure of Italian ports to civilian rescue ships goes hand in hand with the lies and slanders made against NGO rescue ships.
020 Anti-refugee campaign in Europe
21 June 2018
Thousands protest against Italian government’s closure of ports for refugee ships
By Marianne Arens, 19 June 2018
The unspeakable tragedy playing out in the Mediterranean will only be made worse by the new restrictions on rescue ships.
Clashing with Rome, Paris persecutes refugees at Italian border
By Athiyan Silva and Alex Lantier, 18 June 2018
While making empty criticisms of Rome’s callous refusal to help 629 refugees trapped aboard the Aquarius, Macron is stepping up France’s offensive against refugees.
Italian government turns away ship with 629 refugees aboard
By Marianne Arens, 12 June 2018
A decree by the new right-wing Italian government has prevented a ship with more than 600 refugees from landing in Italy. It is the result of the entire EU refugee policy.
Italy: Immigrant harvest worker shot dead
By Marianne Arens, 9 June 2018
Young immigrant shot just hours after Italy’s new far-right government took office.
Extreme-right Italian government takes shape
By Marianne Arens, 6 June 2018
In Italy, the new government of the Lega and the Five Star Movement is due to take power following a final vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday.
Extreme right takes power in Italy
By Peter Schwarz, 2 June 2018
The new Italian government sworn in yesterday in Rome is the most right-wing since the fall of the fascist Duce Benito Mussolini in 1945.
The anti-worker program of Italy’s new populist and neo-fascist government
By Marc Wells, 1 June 2018
The policies adopted in the new government's program reflect the neo-fascist character of Lega as well as the law-and-order approach of the Five Star Movement.
Italian president considers installing neo-fascist government
By Alex Lantier, 31 May 2018
President Sergio Mattarella said he would not install a technocratic government without first trying to form a coalition between the Five Star Movement and the far-right Lega party.
Naming of technocratic government plunges Italy into crisis of class rule
By Alex Lantier, 30 May 2018
Financial markets are panicking and protests are being called, as bitter divisions inside the Italian bourgeoisie erupt to the surface.
Italy: IMF economist to form technocratic government
By Peter Schwarz, 29 May 2018
For now, the attempt to form a government of the Five Star protest movement and the far-right Lega in Italy has failed.
Italy: Most right-wing government since Mussolini
By Peter Schwarz, 23 May 2018
On Sunday, the protest Five Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing extremist Lega agreed on a joint government programme.
Five Star Movement and Lega unveil coalition agreement to form right-wing Italian government
By Marianne Arens, 19 May 2018
The ultra-right extremists and Beppe Grillo’s protest movement intend to deport half a million immigrants and eliminate tens of thousands of public sector jobs.
Rome: Buses explode due to lack of maintenance
By Allison Smith, 15 May 2018
Last year, 22 buses were destroyed by fire in the Italian capital and 2018 is already on track to being far worse, with four bus fires in a single month.
Lega and Five Star Movement prepare a joint government in Italy
By Peter Schwarz, 12 May 2018
In Italy, the right-wing extremist Lega and the Five Star protest movement are negotiating the formation of a joint government. A result is expected at the beginning of next week.
No solution to Italian government crisis
By Marianne Arens, 8 May 2018
The second attempt to form a government failed on May 3 when the leadership of the Democratic Party rejected a coalition with the Five Star Movement.
Italy continues without a government
By Marianne Arens, 21 April 2018
Six weeks after the March 4 parliamentary election there is still no new Italian government in sight.
Italy: Five Star Movement makes a deal with the far-right League
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 30 March 2018
The protest movement Five Star and the far-right League have moved closer together. They might now form a coalition government.
Why the far-right won in Italy
By Peter Schwarz, 7 March 2018
Decades of austerity and attacks on democratic rights by the official “left” in Italy, aided and abetted by its pseudo-left apologists, have produced an electoral victory by the far-right parties.
Right-wing parties benefit from anger over austerity, inequality
Historic defeat for social democrats in Italian election
By Marianne Arens, 6 March 2018
Amid growing popular disaffection with the centre-left parties and their pseudo-left apologists, Sunday’s parliamentary election resulted in a victory for the right-wing and extreme-right forces.
Hung parliament emerges in Italy as social-democratic vote collapses
By Alex Lantier, 5 March 2018
Yesterday’s general elections in Italy have produced a hung parliament and a historic collapse of the ruling social-democratic Democratic Party.
Elections in Italy deepen European Union crisis
By Peter Schwarz, 3 March 2018
Unless the polls are proved wrong, tomorrow’s parliamentary election in Italy will usher in a new stage in the crisis and instability of the European Union.
The Italian election alliance Potere al Popolo: A repackaging of pseudo-left politics
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 2 March 2018
The driving force behind this new Italian electoral alliance is Rifondazione Comunista, which for many years played a crucial role in stabilising the bourgeois order and suppressing the class struggle.
The Italian elections: A perspective for the working class
By Peter Schwarz, 28 February 2018
All the political problems that confront workers and young people across Europe are expressed in concentrated form in the elections to be held in Italy this Sunday.
Twenty thousand demonstrate against fascist rampage in Macerata, Italy
By Marianne Arens, 15 February 2018
Some 20,000 protesters, many of them young people, participated in an anti-fascist march through the town of Macerata Saturday.
Italian election campaign officially opens
By Peter Schwarz, 30 December 2017
Italian President Sergio Matarella dissolved parliament on Thursday, opening campaigning for the election which will take place in the first week of March.
Italy’s “Black Wave” of neo-fascist attacks
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 14 December 2017
Around 10,000 demonstrators protested last Saturday in the northern Italian city of Como against the “Black Wave”, the increase of neo-fascist attacks throughout the country.
The protracted decline of Italy’s Democratic Party
By Marianne Arens, 16 November 2017
The Social Democrats received just 13 percent of the vote in the Sicilian regional election.
Referendums on autonomy take place in northern Italy
By Marianne Arens, 23 October 2017
After both Maroni and Zaia claimed victory, Maroni said the outcome meant both regions could unite their forces for “the battle of the century.”
Earthquake on Italian island of Ischia: Grief is mixed with anger
By Marianne Arens, 1 September 2017
Although the earthquake on Ischia only measured 4 on the Richter scale, many buildings were reduced to rubble, two people died and 42 were injured.
080 Italy earthquke
28 August 2017
Refugees: EU strikes deadly deal with Libyan coast guard on refugees
By Marianne Arens, 19 August 2017
Returned to Libya, impoverished immigrants face execution, torture, rape, blackmail and abandonment in the middle of the desert.
Rome sends warships into Libyan waters to block refugees
By Alex Lantier, 5 August 2017
This mission points to the rising danger of a new imperialist intervention in Libya carried out by competing European powers.
European Union and Italy step up pressure on organisations assisting refugees
By Marianne Arens, 29 July 2017
The Italian government is demanding that NGOs involved in the rescue of refugees sign a “Code of Conduct,” restricting their activities in the Mediterranean Sea.
Italian local elections see defeat of Renzi’s Democratic Party
By Marianne Arens, 1 July 2017
With turnout below 50 percent, the election result is a huge vote of no confidence in the governing Democratic Party and the entire so-called centre-left camp.
New Italian electoral law fails
By Marianne Arens, 12 June 2017
A new electoral law, agreed on by Italy’s four main parties, was rejected by the chamber of deputies on Thursday after two days of debate.
080 Military parade in Rome on Republic Day
3 June 2017
Alitalia bankruptcy exacerbates social tensions in Italy
By Marianne Arens, 5 May 2017
In a recent vote two-thirds of Alitalia pilots, flight attendants and ground crew rejected planned job cuts and pay cuts.
Italy: Pseudo-left founds Italian Left Party
By Marianne Arens, 25 February 2017
Sinistra Italiana has been formed out of Nichi Vendola’s SEL. Its role is to defend bourgeois rule, the European Union and the euro in their deepest crisis to date.
Italian court ruling sparks demands for early elections
By Marianne Arens, 2 February 2017
The government, which is under pressure from the EU and urgently needs time to get the acute banking crisis in Italy under control, opposes moving up the vote.
065 Italian court overturns voting law
28 January 2017
Italy’s Five Star Movement leader seeks to shift course on Europe
By Marianne Arens, 16 January 2017
The European Parliament deputies of Italy’s Five Star Movement were to have shifted from a euroskeptic to a pro-European group. But they now find themselves back in the euroskeptic camp.
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi of the Five Star Movement engulfed in corruption scandal
By Marianne Arens, 5 January 2017
Rarely has a party been so thoroughly unmasked as Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement in Rome.
Monte Paschi bank will seek Italian state bailout
By Alex Lantier and Marianne Arens, 23 December 2016
As Europe slides ever deeper into slump, tens of billions of euros are to be handed to the financial aristocracy in a bailout that only sets the stage for more social attacks.
Paolo Gentiloni named as new Italian prime minister
By Marianne Arens, 13 December 2016
At the head of a transitional government, Gentiloni will continue the policies of his predecessor Matteo Renzi, particularly in dealing with the massive banking and debt crisis.
European Central Bank rejects request by Italy for more time to rescue ailing lender
By Nick Beams, 10 December 2016
The move increases the odds of a government bailout that would impose major losses on small investors and bondholders.
European Central Bank cuts asset purchases but insists “quantitative easing” continues
By Nick Beams, 9 December 2016
President Mario Draghi emphasised that “uncertainty prevails everywhere” and it was very difficult to assess the long-term impact of the “radically new administration” in the US.
Italian Prime Minister Renzi officially resigns
By Marianne Arens, 8 December 2016
Italy’s Senate voted in favour of the budget and thus cleared the way for Renzi’s resignation.
Italian president “freezes” resignation of Prime Minister Renzi
By Peter Schwarz, 7 December 2016
The “No” vote in Sunday's referendum has thrown Italy, together with the EU, deeper into political crisis.
200 Italy and Austria
6 December 2016
Italian Prime Minister Renzi resigns after defeat in constitutional referendum
By Alex Lantier and Mark Wells, 5 December 2016
The vote on Renzi’s referendum, which was rejected by a margin of 59 to 41 percent, expresses growing opposition to the institutions of European and world capitalism.
Vote no on the Italian constitutional referendum!
By Joint statement of the Socialist Equality Party (Britain), Parti de l'égalité Socialiste (France) and Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Germany), 3 December 2016
The referendum would give the prime minister virtually unchecked powers to impose his party's agenda, in a major step towards authoritarian forms of rule.
"No" vote in Italian referendum could spark banking crisis
By Nick Beams, 29 November 2016
Finance capital sees the referendum as a test of whether Prime Minister Renzi can push though “market restructuring” of the banking system and deepen attacks on the working class.
EU fears ‘no’ vote in Italian referendum
By Marianne Arens, 28 November 2016
The constitutional reform, a step toward authoritarian rule, is the key element of the program of Prime Minister Renzi.
Over 300 refugees drown in Mediterranean
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 19 November 2016
Turning refugees away from Europe’s coasts and leaving them to drown in the Mediterranean is a crime that exposes the EU’s true brutality.
Right wing in Italy hails Trump’s election
By Marianne Arens, 18 November 2016
Beppe Grillo, the initiator of the Five-Star Movement, joins a long chain of right-wing and far-right politicians who have welcomed the election of Donald Trump.
Refugees face catastrophic conditions in Italy and Greece
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 7 November 2016
Amnesty International has accused the Italian security forces of using torture and ill-treatment to force refugees to be fingerprinted.
Another major earthquake strikes central Italy
By Marc Wells, 31 October 2016
At 7:41 a.m. on Sunday, Italians in the central area of Marche and Umbria were woken by a violent earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.
In run-up to constitutional referendum
Italy: Another earthquake and an impending political crisis
By Marianne Arens, 29 October 2016
The latest earthquake has disrupted Matteo Renzi’s referendum campaign for December 4.
Italy: Strikes and protests against the Renzi government’s “Jobs Act”
By Marianne Arens, 4 October 2016
Italy is experiencing a wave of strikes by rail workers, flight attendants and teachers that are also directed against the traditional unions.
Italian Prime Minister Renzi announces constitutional referendum for December
By Marianne Arens, 1 October 2016
The referendum is a step towards authoritarian forms of rule and lays the basis for fierce attacks on Italian workers.
020 Italy announces constitutional referendum
28 September 2016
Earthquake disaster aggravates social crisis in Italy
By Marianne Arens, 10 September 2016
Two weeks after the earthquake in central Italy on August 24, it is clear that the devastation and loss of life was not due to a “natural disaster” but corruption and government indifference.
Italian soldiers fighting in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 31 August 2016
Basing itself on a new “anti-terror” law, the Renzi government is deploying Italian soldiers in Libya without the consent of parliament.
Death toll in Italian earthquake climbs to more than 250
By Marianne Arens, 26 August 2016
Italy’s civil defence organisation and volunteers continue to dig in the hope of saving those still buried alive.
Devastating earthquake hits Italy
By Marianne Arens, 25 August 2016
At least 200 have died, hundreds are still missing, thousands were injured and tens of thousands have been left homeless.
Divisions rise inside EU at summit between Germany, France and Italy
By Alex Lantier, 23 August 2016
Amid the escalating crisis unleashed by the Brexit vote, the remaining major EU powers barely succeeded in papering over the divisions between them.
EU shaken by Italian banking crisis
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 14 July 2016
European economic and financial experts anticipate that Italy’s banking crisis could trigger Europe’s next great crisis.
Head-on train collision near Bari, Italy kills at least 25
By our reporter, 13 July 2016
The single track where the trains collided has no automatic braking system similar to other areas in Italy’s poorer southern regions.
Grillo’s Five Star Movement wins mayoral elections in Rome and Turin
By Marianne Arens, 22 June 2016
The electoral victory of the nationalist Five Star Movement in two Italian cities is a resounding defeat for the government of Matteo Renzi.
Setback for ruling Democratic Party in Italian municipal elections
By Marianne Arens, 9 June 2016
Poor results for Democratic Party candidates and gains for Grillo’s Five Star Movement are clear signs of dissatisfaction with the Renzi government.
040 Italy update
8 June 2016
Tensions rise between Italy and Egypt over Giulio Regeni murder
By Marianne Arens, 20 April 2016
Italian student and journalist Giulio Regeni was tortured to death in Egypt in January in a bestial manner.
Western powers press ahead with plans for new war in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 9 April 2016
Italy, the EU and the US are preparing their next military intervention in Libya.
Italy hit by banking crisis
By Marianne Arens, 9 February 2016
Stock markets across the world experienced a sharp downturn at the beginning of 2016, with the stock exchange in Milan affected particularly severely.
Italian steel work faces closure or sell-off
By Marianne Arens, 8 February 2016
On January 11, 500 steel workers occupied the city hall in Genoa to protest the likely loss of their jobs.
Italian pseudo-left supports Syriza’s betrayal
By Marianne Arens, 11 August 2015
Italian pseudo-left politician Nichi Vendola is dissolving his SEL organisation and preparing to establish a new “political subject” modelled on Syriza.
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