Italy and the populists | Berliner Zeitung



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Rome / Berlin –

These are mbades who applaud Matteo Salvini. People are in a hurry, everywhere are the smartphones that have to hang on at this moment. These scenes take place almost every day in Italy, but the election campaign has long pbaded.

Salvini, deputy prime minister, interior minister and leader of the right wing right wing, is not only mixing his country, but the whole of the EU at the time current more than any other. The documentary Arte "Italy and the populists" shows this Tuesday (8:15 pm) that Italy, led by skeptical populists vis-à-vis the EU, is wondering whether this could constitute a threat to Europe.

After a memorable election in March and a party suspended for a month, Salvinis Lega and the populist five-star movement united. Since then, the country is in transition. The creators of the documentary give a glimpse of this other Italy by recalling what happened in the first months after taking office and present the current protagonists – Salvini and the star boss Luigi Di Maio. The badessments provide not only politicians but also other well-known personalities of the country.

The documentary is a journey that leads not only to the centers of power in Rome, but also to the unemployed of the South and the homeland of Salvini's party, the North, fiefs of partners so diverse. "The alpha political animal that is shaking all over Europe today" gives an exclusive interview in which Salvini presents himself as a man of the people, for which he is also held by many. "I have no secrets, no strategy, nobody writes me my speeches, my secret is normal," he says. In the evening, he always walks in shorts for jogging and drives "secretly" by subway. "I lead a normal life, I go shopping, but I also do what I started doing."

Salvini admirers such as former Trump adviser Steve Bannon or right-wing Belgian populist Mischaël Modrikamen also have their say. "Many say that populism means a lot of talk, but no action," Modrikamen said. "Salvini proves the opposite: he acts where it has always been said, it will not work."

The documentary draws a dark picture for Italy and for Europe. This is also due to the many critical voices chosen: "If Di Maio and Salvini run their program, Europe will implode, relations between Italy and Europe will dissolve and the country will be isolated so catastrophic, "said the Italian journalist and editor of the newspaper" Il Foglio ", Giuliano Ferrara. "At the same time, people who have expressed their displeasure and brought the right-wing populist to power will be impoverished."

But what is "normal Italian", people of all this? Those who are not high-ranking prosecutors or renowned writers? This page is largely hidden. Civil society, which, according to the documentary, is slow, is shown only by far. Even the frightened old people we talk about, the young people without prospects, the people who yearn for the promised income of the citizens – they can not speak. (AP)

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