Italians have dealt another blow to the establishment – spiked
Here I was thinking the populist revolt was over. After all, the neoliberal elites said it was. They pronounce populism dead every six months or so seemingly convinced that one election result or external event has finally finished it off for good. Covid was supposed to kill populism, by reminding the supposedly ignorant oiks of the importance of experts. Then Putin s invasion of Ukraine was supposed to kill populism, by reminding nativist voters of the importance of international cooperation and the folly of authoritarian strongmen something they are supposedly enamoured of. And yet those pesky voters just keep on electing the wrong governments. If the triumph of the Sweden Democrats in supposedly sensible Sweden earlier this month wasn t symbolic enough, Italy has just made the right-wing, anti-immigration Brothers of Italy the largest party, paving the way for what the media breathlessly call the most right-wing government since Mussolini .