The populist parties that comprise Italy's new government owe their electoral victory to emotionally satisfying but logically unsound arguments about the role of the European Union in their country's travails. Now that they are in power, they will have to confront the fact that Italy's most pressing problems are its own creation.
BRUSSELS – Italy is making international headlines again. In the country’s election on March 4, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing League party captured a combined parliamentary majority by tapping into the public’s discontent over immigration and economic stagnation. Now, M5S’s Luigi Di Maio and the League’s Matteo Salvini have formed a new government. Despite their differences, both place most of the blame for Italy’s problems on “Europe” – meaning European Union rules and shared principles.
BRUSSELS – Italy is making international headlines again. In the country’s election on March 4, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing League party captured a combined parliamentary majority by tapping into the public’s discontent over immigration and economic stagnation. Now, M5S’s Luigi Di Maio and the League’s Matteo Salvini have formed a new government. Despite their differences, both place most of the blame for Italy’s problems on “Europe” – meaning European Union rules and shared principles.