In a run-down suburb of Naples, dilapidated buildings lie sprawled across a vast wasteland. Here in Bagnoli, like the rest of southern Italy, residents plagued by economic woes and disillusioned with traditional politics turned to the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) in Italy’s general election.
In this grim hinterland, close to the hometown of charismatic M5S leader Luigi Di Maio, more than 57 percent of the population voted for the populist mavericks.
“It was a protest vote,” 29-year-old waiter Antonio Luongo said. “People want change, new faces. At this point, people in the south feel too let down by our politicians. Five Stars has never governed, why not give it a try?”
Photo: AFP
Bagnoli was once the lifeblood of the region’s economy thanks to its booming steel industry, but in the 1990s, the factories were shut down and thousands of workers lost their livelihoods.
The high chimneys of the old steel mill still dominate the landscape, a constant reminder of what corruption and ineffective politics have done to the town.
“We’re still waiting for the promised reconversion,” said Vittorio Di Capua, a former trade union representative, referring to the numerous plans proposed over the years to transform the defunct site that were never brought to fruition.
“The politicians had other things on their minds ... they made so many promises ... those in charge of the reconversion stole all the money,” Di Capua said.
On election night, M5S, founded in 2009, scooped up 33 percent of the national vote, becoming Italy’s biggest single party.
Its vows to fight the scourge of corruption in Italian politics, and a promise of a basic universal income for Italy’s poorest, particularly resonated with voters in the country’s impoverished south.
The party cleaned up across the region, winning in almost all constituencies and ousting the old guard.
“There is a deep discontent [in the south] due to economic difficulties linked to the financial crisis that has still not been overcome,” said Leonardo Morlino, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University.
Italy has struggled to recover from the crisis, with output still 6 percent lower than it was before it began and rampant unemployment, but nowhere has suffered more than the poverty-hit south.
While GDP per capita was 34,000 euros (US$41,877) in the country’s northeast in 2016, in the south, it was just 18,000 euros, according to Rome-based statistics institute Istat.
“Youth unemployment is extremely high in southern Italy, reaching 40 percent in some areas,” Morlino said.
Chiara Lillo, a 28-year-old working in Bagnoli’s scientific center, a modern building that stands out on the rubbish-strewn sea front, said she was lucky.
“I don’t think that there are many job possibilities for young people here,” she said.
“I have friends, acquaintances, relatives who are out of work... I have to say that many people I know turned to M5S in this election,” she added.
M5S has promised to cut the salaries of Italy’s “fat cat” politicians and redistribute wealth.
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