Italian News Summary

National Unity Governnment: After the fall of the coalition government of the populist party and parties from the center to the left when a centrist junior coalition member party turned against the populist Prime Minister, a new government of national unity was formed amidst the Coronavirus pandmeic. Led by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, the grand coalition included the populist, anti-establishment party and parties from the left to the far-right anti-migrant Trumpist League Party, as well as non-political technocrats. The center-right party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Forza Italia, joined the coalition. The only significant national party in Parliament not to join is the party on the far right between Forza Italia and the League on the ideological spectrum, though the three parties remain in a bloc for elections. Even after several months, Draghi’s government remains popular, with most parties satisfied with his leadership on the pandemic, his securing of aid from the European Union, and on his successful reform to speed up Italy’s notoriously slow judicial system without letting criminals like corrupt officials or organized criminals escape justice. The main friction comes from disagreements from the League on pandemic responses that are relatively minor, compared to the differences between American parties, such as the time for a curfew, which the Government set at 10:00 PM, despite the League’s preference for 11:00 PM. Forza Italia, by contrast, has supported responsible restrictions, which Italy does enforce, based on the data. There is a debate about mandatory vaccinations and consideration is being given to a vaccine booster. Italy’s vaccination campaign is ahead of that of Americans, but there is much progress to be made as the delta variant has become dominant among the unvaccinated. There was a disagreement among the parties in the coalition over a proposed equality law for homosexuals that raised concerns of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, with which the Italian State has a treaty regarding its relationship with Italy, that could have compromised the freedom to hire and to express different points of view. The uncompromising proposal from the center left has stalled the bill’s progress, despite consensus on the need for equality, as the bill does not raise particular moral concerns. There is also tension within the coalition over migrant policy, with Italy again trying to coordinate policy with a mostly sympathetic EU, with the League being hostile to refugees. In addition to migrants from the Mediterranean, Italy has been welcoming Afghan refugees and is among the EU members seeking a shared accommodation of them. Forza Italia Rejects a Proposed Ultranationalist European Parliamentary Group: Meanwhile, Forza Italia rejected the proposal by the League party for their fellow bloc members to form a new far-right parliamentary group within the European Parliament, together with ultranationalists and authoritarians like the ruling party of Hungary, which had left the European People’s Party after having been suspended for breaking with the group’s principles of liberty and representative government. Forza Italia, which is not as anti-European as the League, believes in Western ideals of liberty and representative governmnent and in the transatlantic alliance with the United States, will remain in the EPP.