Italian Elections 2018: New reforms and parties in action

On the 4th of March the Italian general elections take place. As the Italian economy has not yet fully recovered from a severe recession and people are unsatisfied with the solutions proposed to tackle the migration crisis, there is a lot at stake. But how come that the third-largest economy in Europe is not growing the way it should? What is it that the Italians are discontent with?

According to the opinion polls, the three biggest players in the upcoming elections are the populist Five Star Movement, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, and former prime minister Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party. However, it seems unlikely that one party will gain the majority of votes. Will forming a coalition then become as difficult as it is in Germany right now?

Moreover, what will be the consequences of the elections for Europe? One possible coalition that is often proposed would be an anti-European one. The wave of nationalism and populism that has crossed a big part of the world appears to continue in one of the founding members of the European Union, but will Italy try to turn its back on the European bloc after the elections?

We will discuss this and more with Massimo Giuliodori (Professor of empirical macroeconomics at the University of Amsterdam) and Lorenzo Marsili (Founding director of European Alternatives, author of  ‘Citizens of Nowhere: A Blueprint for a Politics Beyond Borders’, and initiator of DiEM25).

The interview will take place the 21st of February at Room for Discussion in the E-hal of the
Roeterseiland. Hope to see you all there!

What: Italian elections
Where: E-hal, roeterseiland 11
When: February 21st, 13:00-14:00
Guests: Massimo Giuliodori (Professor of empirical macroeconomics at the University of
Amsterdam) and Lorenzo Marsili (Founding director of European Alternatives, author of  ‘Citizens of Nowhere: A Blueprint for a Politics Beyond Borders’, and initiator of DiEM25).
Interviewers: Paolo Destilo & Sara Joelle Baars