On the eve of an important electoral vote, Italy is like on the brink of a volcano. But few analysts seem to be really aware of it, as happened in the American vote that led Donald Trump to the White House and the Brexit referendum.
But let’s go in order. A recent Eurobarometer survey has made it clear that the Europeanist feeling is falling in Italy after years in which our country hoped that engaging in Europe would save us from a slow decline. Not only that: to the question of whether you are better today or 40 years ago, the three countries with the worst percentage have been in the order the USA, Great Britain and … Italy. Needless to say that in the US and Great Britain there have been major changes compared to previous policies and politica landscape. The two countries have taken the path of isolationism over multilateralism, protectionism over free trade.
According to former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in a vibrant lesson held on January 18 at the Catholic University of Milan on European destinies, “Europe is playing a game of life or death”, a match that “is not yet won and it is not lost “. In short, we are at a historical junction. Possible? Of course – added Letta after the institutional greetings of the rector Franco Anelli and the introduction of Professor Carlo Dell’Aringa, in the case of Trump it was not his victory as a defeat by Hillary Clinton and in the British case of a daredevil former premier conservative Cameron. Thats are, errors of political elites in power rather than intrinsic force of the drives of local populisms. But so far, the results have been devastating on the treaties in favor of the climate, on multilateralism, on the end of globalization, on international security.
A strong negative impact on the Italian vote would come from the strong youth unemployment and recent bank failures, as well as the market rumors of further takeovers by foreign companies of other pieces of strategic Italian production system already deprived of important pieces. In the political offer lacks, with rare exceptions, a convincing and articulated European narrative and long-term visions for the growth of the country, our role in the world, the description of a renewed industrial policy that chooses the sectors of development on which invest. The political parties seem more worried about chasing short-sighted proposals. All elements that alarm citizens are increasingly worried about not being able to guarantee their children’s future. Thus Italy risks not being a country for young people but not even for old people.
