Italy: Warning to far-right | Election backlash and pro-Palestinian demonstrations

From Rome

Election results in the island Sardinia, in which the representative of the center left wonAnd the latest Police baton on youth In demonstrationsPalestine The cities of Florence and Pisa were a warning light to the right-wing government Georgia Meloney.

In Sardinia's elections held on February 25, the president of the region was voted in (equivalent to the governor of the Argentine provinces) and the former deputy minister of economic development during the Sardinian government was elected. Mario Draghi (2021-2022), Alessandra Today, a member and current national deputy of the Five Star Movement (M5S). Your Wish “The Sardinians' Response to Punishment” Florence and Pisa, the new president commented.

Results

The results obtained so far speak of a very small difference between the two, with 45.4% of votes in favor of Todde and 45% in favor of the Fratelli d'Italia (FDI, Meloni's party) candidate. Paolo Druze. There will be a difference of just 3,000 votes between the two. But apparently in some segments it took a long time to deliver the results and the votes had to be recounted.

The new president of the Sardinia region is also the first woman to hold that position in the island's history. His party aligned itself with the Democratic Party (centre-left) for this campaign and to congratulate him, the PD's secretary, Ellie SchleinHe flew to Sardinia with the leader of the M5S and the former prime minister of Italy. Giuseppe Conte. “The wind is changing,” commented Schlein, referring to the electoral outcome of five years of centre-right government in Sardinia. “I will be the first woman president of this region. A historical page opens for Sardinia. “I feel happy and proud,” Today said.

At the national level, the M5S and PD coalition that existed a few years ago fell apart over time. But these election results have made it clear that this coalition is effective in fighting the right. “Sardinia indicates that the path that started in 2019 (a coalition between centre-left parties) is the right path. Now that path is taken with confidence and generosity,” commented former PD Secretary Dario Francesini.

To the respected PD politician and president of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano BonaciniElections in Sardinia “the first crack to open on the right. These elections have shown that the right can be defeated, in the upcoming elections in the Abruzzo region and in the national political elections. But for that we have to put aside our selfishness and look for an alternative plan for the country. We have to prepare,” he announced on the “Stars” TV show on Sky Tg24.

Demonstrations

Demonstrations in support of Palestine on Friday 23 February in Florence and Pisa were mostly young people, university and high school students, but also trade unionists and other people opposed to the carnage in Palestine.

In some of the videos posted by the youth, the police, with helmets and batons, can be seen brutally beating the protesters. 18 people were injured in local hospitals in Florence, 10 of them minors. Among them, a 21-year-old woman suffered a broken nose and a cut under one eye.

The Florence protesters, about 500 young people, began marching from Piazza Santissima Annunziara through the center to the US Consulate. As the boys approached the embassy, ​​the beating began.

Protesters were stopped when they tried to reach the blocked university area in Pisa (northwest of Florence, home to the most prestigious universities), and that's when the caning began.

The youth wanted to express their disagreement with the Maloney government's stance of continuing to support Israel over the “genocide perpetrated in Palestine”. Used in Palestine.” ” some students explained.

Around 7pm local time, another demonstration took place in Pisa, but this time there was no police repression. Protests against oppression and for Palestine were also held in other cities such as Rome, Catania (Sicily) and Bologna.

Such repressive measures have not been seen in Italy for decades. For this reason, both university and high school professors and politicians strongly criticized the government, expressing their disagreement with the aggressive approach of the police.

“Enough of caning the students. The images of Pisa are unacceptable,” said Schlein, who along with other representatives tabled a parliamentary question so the interior minister, Matteo Piandedosi, explain what happened. For Conte, the episodes in Florence and Pisa were “worrying pictures, unworthy of our country.”

President of Italy Sergio Mattarella He also expressed his deep disagreement with what happened. The President further noted that freedom of expression should be respected Using canes against youths is a “significant failure” of them..

Right wing reactions

Government allies downplayed student repression. “An incident happened in Sardinia. “I will win the next elections in Abruzzo,” the current president of the Abruzzo region announced to reporters. Marco MarsiglioFrom the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia – Prime Minister Meloni's party – he will run again in the March 10 election.

Obviously, the election result in Sardinia has also triggered An internal dispute in the government between the League of Fratelli d'Italia and Matteo Salvini, Cristian Solinas, an associate of the League, proposed to represent the current president of the region. Maloney urged Druze's candidacy.

After the results in Sardinia, the prime minister and the leaders of the two other governing parties, Salvini of the League and Antonio Tajani of Forza ItaliaIf they made a mistake, he signed a joint statement to ensure that it does not happen again in the country's next election days.

Regarding the suppression of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Salvini, the Vice-President of the Council of Ministers, did not want to comment on President Mattarella's phrase, but made it clear. “He who attacks the police is a criminal”. And the government is “on the side of the police and the carabinieri,” which gave a clear picture of the government's position.

Not too far off from that view was Prime Minister Maloney's comment this Wednesday. “To remove corporate support from those who risk their safety every day to protect our safety is extremely dangerous. “It's a very dangerous game,” He told Tg2 TV. Meloni's comments came as Florence's police chief was reassigned to other duties, though it was officially said he had nothing to do with the protests. Minister Piandosi and the special police services, Digos, should investigate what happened in Pisa and Florence and report to Parliament.