Angry Italians on the streets. “The government begins to fear us a lot”
In the port of Livorno in Tuscany, Italian dock for two days refused to unload a containerist belonging to Israel, chanting “we don't want you”. Similar situations occurred in ports around Italy – from Genoa and Trieste in the north to Salerno and Taranto in the south.
“Israel exterminates the population of Gaza by killing, starving,” said DOKER LUCA SIMONI. – We can't remain indifferent. We have always been a guest port, not a port of war. We will protest until this war is over.
CGIL – the largest trade union in Italy – announced on Friday a general strike in a gesture of Solidarity with the global Sumud Flotilla, which sailed with humanitarian aid Gaza and was detained by Israeli forces. It was the second general strike of this organization in less than two weeks – according to trade unionists, 60 percent participated in it. public transport employees and railways, as well as education and various state services.
In response to him on Friday, thousands of people came out to the streets of Italy. Also earlier – on Wednesday evening – there were spontaneous protests in this country after the Israeli armed forces intercepted ships of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and arrested hundreds of activists, including the well -known activist Greta Thunberg.
Recent polls indicate the strong support of Italians for the Palestinian state and the humanitarian mission of the flotilla. Even a significant part of the Giorgia Meloni government coalition shares these opinions.
The Italian Prime Minister herself tries to follow the path designated by the previous US president Joe Biden and maintain a delicate balance. On the one hand, play the role of Israel's strongest ally – in this case in the EU, while maintaining friendly relations with Arab countries.
In recent months, however, she criticized Israel for killing Palestinians, claiming that his reaction to the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 is “disproportionate”. She also expressed readiness to recognize the Palestinian state, though under certain conditions.
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At the same time, she criticized the initiative of the global Sumud flotilla – she called her “dangerous and irresponsible” and stated that she was only intended to “create problems” for her government. She also criticized the Friday General Strike, accusing Italy of looking for a “long weekend under the guise of a revolution” and claiming that this event was politically arranged and does not bring any real benefits for the Gaza Zone.
Not everyone agrees with her words.
“The Meloni government can survive only thanks to the scapegoat,” said Gianfranco Francese, head of the CGIL branch in Livorno. “There is also a big contradiction between what Melons says and what he does,” he added. – He says that she is a great patriot, Christian and mother, but she did not take any political or diplomatic actions to stop the massacre of women and children.
Limited impact on the polls
Despite the strong social moods reflected in the wave of pro-Palestinian protests, the Italian brothers Giorgi's brothers still lead in polls, obtaining about 30 percent. support. From the moment of coming to power in October 2022, its government remains extremely stable as for Italian standards. – Most public opinion is solidarized with gauze and want to end the war. However, we do not see that this has an impact on the results of the election, 'said Lorenzo Pregliasco, co -founder of the Analytical Company Youtrend.
He mentioned the last election in the Marche region, where the Meloni coalition won the second term. He expects the same result in elections in Veneto and Calabria. Nadia Urbinati, a political scientist from Columbia University in New York and the University of Bologna, explained that the effects of protests are not reflected in the elections, because only half of the Italian voters go to the urns.
“And those who do this vote for the right,” she said, adding that Melons can easily use protests to disarm their opponents. Urbinati warned that every spontaneous civic action was susceptible to infiltration by opponents and stated that this is what it happened in the case of the Propalestinian movement, which was “criminalized and suppressed”.
Susanna Romitelli, a cardiologist from Rome, who participated in many Propalestinian protests in the Italian capital, perceives this differently. – Yesterday evening, in hospitals in Italy, an action took place, during which we commemorated thousands of doctors killed in gas when they tried to help people. It was a very touching moment and we will continue to mobilize. Perhaps this is not seen in political polls yet, but I think that the current government is beginning to fear us a lot – she said.
