La Lega di Salvini. Estrema destra di governo

Da tempo la Lega ha scelto di posizionarsi nell’area dell’estrema destra: una virata che ha consentito al partito di legittimarsi come forza trainante della coalizione conservatrice, tanto da stravolgerne l’assetto indebolendo l’area moderata. Nello scenario emerso con il voto del 2018 la Lega compete con l’altra formazione anti-establishment, il Movimento 5 Stelle, nel tentativo di monopolizzare il disagio economico e il disorientamento elettorale e di ricomporre, sul piano socio-territoriale, le istanze di cambiamento avanzate dagli elettori. Uno scenario inedito in cui due frères-ennemis si disputano l’egemonia politica e culturale in Italia.The Northern League has become a party of the extreme right, moving form previous positions based on territorial issues. After the 2018 general elections the main competitor of the Lega of Salvini is the M5s with wich the LN share the monopoly on the protest voting

The League of Salvini : from a Europe of Regions to a Europe of Nations

The electoral success of the League of Salvini (Northern League) is one of the most important novelties in the Italian political context. The party enjoyed a long spell in power as part of the previous centre-right government led by Silvio Berlusconi. Since 2018, it has been the dominant partner in its coalition and enjoys the greatest support of any single party amongst the electorate. This was a product of an alliance with the Five Star Movement, but following its implosion and a failed attempt to force new elections, the League has returned to the status of an opposition party. The chapter aims to compare the old and the new League and investigate the reasons behind the shift from ethno-regionalism to right-wing nationalism/sovereignism, and how and why the party survived the multiple crises (electoral, political, moral crisis) that it has experienced in its recent history. It will investigate the effects these changes have had on the composition of its electorate, the characteristics of its political projects and alliances at national and international level. Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of the rhetoric used against EU integration, the European Commission and in favour of a different ‘Europe of nations’

From the Lega Nord to Salvini's League. Changing everything to change nothing?

The article aims to retrace the transformations of the Lega Nord under the leadership of Matteo Salvini by focusing on the analysis of key dimensions such as: the ideology and issue positions, the territorial distribution of vote, and the party internal organization. The actual Lega of Salvini is undoubtedly different from the party of the origin. Regionalist claims and a fluid ideological trait have turned into far-right, nationalistic and anti-E.U. perspective, which allowed to drain votes from new and different socio-geographic contexts, even without a durable electoral rootedness. The article also highlights how the recent season of success for the Lega introduced elements of uncertainty in the strategies, alliances, and the party identity itself during a critical period of the Italian politics and under the effect of the pandemic crisis

I non rappresentati. La galassia dell’astensione prima e dopo il voto del 2018

In Italy, as in other Western countries, electoral abstention has registered a sharp increase during the last four decades, more specifically after the transition to the Second Republic. Many scholars have deeply investigated the socio-political and territorial configuration of non-voting, as well as the most significant changes occurred over time. While in the first period, until the late 90s, the abstainers were mainly peripheral voters (with less resources, apathetic and disconnected from the political system), in the recent years the act of non-voting has lived more as an expression of political disaffection, an active behaviour that voters (also the most involved in politics) have used strategically to punish the incumbent. The last two sections of our article deeply investigate the political framework arising from the economic crisis of the 2008, after the end of the last Berlusconi’s government in 2011 and the period of transition under Mario Monti’s technical government. The 2013 Parliamentary elections and, more extensively, the disruptive vote of 2018, have showed the juxtaposition of two different dynamics: on the one side, a political demobilization through the safer non-voting option on the other side a growing support for anti-establishment parties (above all, the Five Star Movement), perceived as valid alternative choice instead of a vote for «old» parties or abstention

Esclusi per legge : “Non-eligible voters” come categoria negletta delle democrazie contemporanee

The inclusive nature of the electoral moment (for all adults) is one of the fundamental criteria of the modern democratic process based on universal suffrage (Dahl 2000, 37-8). However, there is always a more or less significant difference between the number of individuals theoretically entitled to vote based on age (VAP, voting-age population) and the number of those who can effectively do so (VEP, voting-eligible population), meaning those who are legally authorized to participate in elections. Although it is lower compared to the United States case (McDonald 2001), where certain social groups are dissuaded from voting due to mandatory registration procedures (Avery and Peffley 2005; Delwin 2013), the gap between different measurements of turnout is also observed in Europe (Geys 2006; Tuorto 2022). This article aims to compare the countries of the EU-27 (+ United Kingdom) regarding the criteria that regulate inclusion/exclusion and the low participation of social groups most susceptible to temporary or permanent limitations in their participation in voting, in relation to specific conditions and/or public behavior. In particular, the article examines the situation of four categories of voters: individuals with psycho-physical disabilities, convicted offenders, non-resident citizens (natives abroad), and non-citizen residents (immigrants). The heterogeneity of situations found within the European common area highlights significant differences on a legislative and cultural level, attributable to dominant social representations and the normative translation of these representations. The systematic alienation or exclusion of certain social groups from elections raises a legitimacy problem for the quintessential moment of exercising democracy, in the presence of legal, administrative, and symbolic barriers that make electoral results imperfect and at least partially distorted

Il disallineamento tra orientamenti elettorali e posizioni sui temi : una questione giovanile o di famiglia politica?

The transformation of politics in contemporary democracies has led to the emergence of a new ideological conflict, alongside the traditional left-right scheme, described as liberal–authoritarian or cosmopolitan–nationalist cleavage (Kriesi et al. 2008; Hooghe and Marks 2002). This change brought to a redefinition of the linkages between issue and voting preferences, as many voters decide to support a party regardless of their positions on issues while voting for the same party. Within such framework, the contribute of the new generations to the growth of the electoral dealignment and volatility has been largely analysed (Miller et al. 1996; Franklin 2004; Plutzer 2002). Issue incongruency is part of the process. Young people are often considered to be tolerant and inclusive because they grew up under prosperous and secure conditions and developed post-materialist values of freedom, multiculturalism, progressivism (Inglehart and Welzel 2005; Janmaat and Keating 2019). However, the perspective of left-cosmopolitans engaged in electoral politics contrasts with the image of economically- insecure left-behind group of young people who don’t share the same progressive values (Bartle et al. 2020; Sloam and Henn 2019) and support right-wing political parties. What is still unknown is the extent to which extreme ideological traits and attitudes (e.g. negative discourses on immigration) combine with positions of openness on individual freedom. Likewise, the same contradiction can be found among left-wing voters who assume liberal position on economy or those economically left and culturally conservative. The article aims at analysing the relationship between issue positions and vote (propensity to vote). We test the hypotheses of a coherent vs incoherent ideological space by looking at the structure of voters’ preferences on economic (State vs. free market) as well as cultural issues (individual rights, attitudes towards minorities, European integration) and the differences between young people and older component of the electorate. The analysis is focused on the Italian case. Data are taken from the 2020 Itanes survey

Bacterial and Archaeal Specific-Predation in the North Atlantic Basin

Stable isotope probing (SIP) was used to track prokaryotic and eukaryotic carbon uptake along a meridional transect (Long. 52°W) in the North Atlantic to assess if 13C-resource partitioning between bacteria and archaea and 13C-labeled eukaryotic predators could be detected. One-liter SIP microcosms were amended with 13C-acetate or 13C-urea and incubated for 48 h. Our data indicated archaea often outcompeted bacteria for 13C-urea while both archaea and bacteria could incorporate 13C-acetate. This 13C label could also be tracked into eukaryotic microbes. The largest number of 13C-labeled eukaryotic OTUs, and the greatest percentage of eukaryotic 13C signal, were observed in conjunction with both archaeal and bacterial 13C incorporation, suggesting that most eukaryotic predators do not distinguish between archaeal and bacterial prey. However, other 13C-eukaryotic OTUs were exclusively associated with either 13C-archaeal or 13C-bacterial OTUs. These archaeal-specific and bacterial-specific 13C-eukaryotic OTUs were related to known bactivorous predators including Ancyromonas, Amastigomonas, Cafeteria, and Caecitellus. Our SIP findings suggest both resource partitioning between bacteria and TACK (Thaumarchaeota, Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, and Korarchaeota) archaea and selective predation by eukaryotic predators. Determining the equalizing mechanisms for co-existence in the marine environment can help map predator/prey interactions to better estimate carbon flow in the deep ocean

Quale genere di astensionismo? La partecipazione elettorale delle donne in Italia nel periodo 1948-2018

In the study of voter turnout, a gender perspective is useful in many ways. Since in Italy women gained the right to vote relatively late (only in 1946), a gender gap perspective is utmost handy to grasp why women had an immediate and massive participation over the First Republic. It is also relevant for understanding why their institutional representation comparatively still scores low and why women still do not bear a grounded interest for politics. Previous research explains this anomalous behav- iour (high turnout coupled with low institutional presence and interest) through the overwhelming social conformism in the Fi ies and Sixties as an output of a stark con- trast between mass parties, Catholic in uence and deep social peer pressure. In the Second Republic, the explanation for the rise of female abstention is related to both the secularization of social and family behaviours and a general disa ection towards poli- tics. is article outlines a long-term read of gender gap in the political turnout (1948- 2018) through the aid of two sections (one pointing out the initial characteristics for a strong mobilization of female voters and another pinpointing the reverse phenomenon in the last 30 years). We then o er some points for discussion about attributed mean- ings, working from within inequalities and possible future e ective policies to contain and reduce the gender gap in political turnout