The Italian vote

The analysis of the recent Italian vote for the European elections reveals, once again, a consistent mobility of electoral flows, in a scenario however characterized by a high abstention. The phenomenon of low voter turnout can certainly be explained by a well-established distrust of the competing political formations, due to a poor attitude to the function of government and to the electoral promises not respected. If, in the past, there was a certain immobility of the electoral situation, with poor mobility of the vote, maintained, moreover, even with the beginning of the second republic, in recent times the consensus began to move quickly. In the last European elections the Democratic Party, which claims to be center-left, obtained 40% of the votes, but the bad results on the social level, in open contrast with its declared political position, combined with a certain arrogance of the exercise of power , led to a decrease of consents up to about 19%, in the political elections of March 2018. The winners of that electoral competition were the anti-Five-star formation, which rose to 32% and the anti-European party of the Northern League, which thanks to a new management, he was able to recover from 6% to 17%. From these two forces was born the current government, which pays for the lack of affinity between its components, often in contrast on the subjects on which to concentrate government action and on the timing and methods of political decisions. It is clear that the greatest expectations were placed on the party that was the first in Italy, but the lack of political practice and so much inexperience, on the verge of amateurism, disappointed the electorate that penalized them in the Europeans with six million votes in less. The strategy of the Northern League, which took the first place in the Five Stars, was wait-and-see, in the sense of making all the contradictions within the allies and also their incompetence disappear; but not only, the leader of the League has been able to intercept the fears of the Italians for the problem of security endangered by the arrival of migratory flows, which has already been diminished by the previous center-left government. It must be specified, however, that there is a heavy absence in government programs and it is that concerning the economy. Despite the difficulty of the Italians, they were distracted by the problem of security, which is only minimally connected with the economic development. If the program of citizenship income, although starting from good intentions, has turned out to be not resolutive of the problem of poverty, the flat tax, symbol of the League, will be impossible because it is not supported by a real financial capacity of the state, as well as capable of increasing still that social gap that has grown exponentially from the policies of the center-left. It must also be specified that, when the ideologies were present, the voters of the left constantly went to the polling stations, while, now, in the absence of a subject capable of assuring them representation, they are the major part of the non-vote. On the contrary, center and right-wing voters ensure a greater presence that favors the formation of that electoral part. However it is impossible not to notice how the failed promises have disappointed the voters, determining the electoral mobility of recent times; this is true above all for what concerns the economic part and the well-being of the citizens, somewhat compressed since the governments in office since the nineties. The elections are rewarding those who have focused on security, but when economic emergencies resume the scene it will not be difficult to foresee a new change of leadership, until next time.