Mainstream parties and the politics of immigration in Italy: A structural advantage for the right or a missed opportunity for the left?

Abstract

The structure of the Italian party system pushes the mainstream right and left to adopt different strategies on immigration in spite of a certain ideological and definite policy convergence. First, in a context of bipolar competition, the mainstream right prefers to cooperate, rather than compete, with the anti-immigrant radical right. Second, while the mainstream left dominates the centre-left coalition, the mainstream right has found itself subject to and torn by the populist tendencies of the centre-right coalition leader Silvio Berlusconi. The analysis shows that the mainstream left has endorsed concerns over security and border control, while remaining open to the social, cultural and (to a lesser extent) political integration of immigrants. In contrast, the mainstream right has appeared increasingly split between a component ‘contaminated’ by Berlusconi, which makes some concessions to the radical right; and a moderate component, which is more sensitive to liberal ideas and/or to the solidaristic remarks of the Catholic Church. The reality of the Italian welfare system and labour market would appear to create more favourable conditions for the ideological approach of the mainstream left. However, the mainstream right has benefited from its alliance with the radical right as it has constantly owned the immigration issue

Bordering Democracies, Democratising Borders

“…However, the policies that they implement often share a common emphasis on the management of migration through re-bordering and securitisation measures. In fact, while centre-right parties have tended to cooperate with far-right parties, thus shifting their position on migration towards more conservative stances (Massetti 2015), centre-left parties have adopted more liberal opinions on integration but have embraced stronger positions on (especially irregular) migration, either on their own will (Alonso & da Fonseca 2011) or pushed by competition from the right (van Spanje 2010). This policy convergence between centre-left and centre-right parties has hindered the emergence of different perspectives on migration in the public debate, contributing to reinforce the dominant neoliberal ideology and its predilection for the free movement of capital and goods over that of (undesired) people (Berman & Snegovaya 2019;Berman & Kundnani 2021).…”

The meaning of welcome. Positive migration discourse

“…Until the 1980's, indeed, the country was characterised by emigration, but rising economic trends saw it confirmed as one of the main destinations for migrants by the 2000's (Van Hooren 2010). Opposition to migration rapidly became a familiar trope in far right discourse and that of the mainstream right (Massetti 2015, Bobba & McDonnell 2016, Fernandes-Jesus, Rochira & Mannarini 2022.…”

Christian Europe Redux

“…After 2005, the Lega even directly adopted some of the Vatican's policy positions, following ‘the new course in the Catholic Church inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI and the new Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’ (Massetti, 2015, p. 498). More recently, Lega leader Salvini established close contacts with conservative clerics who fervently oppose Benedict's successor, Pope Francis, such as Cardinal Raymond Burke.…”