Euroscepticism,also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism,is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies,and seek reform,to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism,or European Unionism.
The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946,when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was elected to draft a constitution,which was promulgated on 1 January 1948.
Lega Nord,whose complete name is Lega Nord per l'Indipendenza della Padania,is a right-wing,federalist,populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election,the party was rebranded as Lega (transl. League),without changing its official name. The party was nonetheless frequently referred to only as "Lega" even before the rebranding,and informally as the Carroccio. The party's latest elected leader was Matteo Salvini.
The Swiss People's Party,also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre,is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marco Chiesa,it is the largest party in the Federal Assembly,with 53 members of the National Council and 6 of the Council of States.
Italy of Values is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former Mani pulite prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro,who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the party in 2014. IdV has aimed at gathering and giving voice to different sectors of the Italian society. From the beginning of its existence one of its major issues has been the so-called "moral issue". In the early 2010s,IdV was eclipsed by the new-born Five Star Movement,founded by comedian Beppe Grillo,which used the same populist and anti-corruption rhetoric.
Matteo Salvini is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been Federal Secretary of Italy's Lega Nord party since December 2013 and an Italian senator since March 2018. Salvini represented Northwestern Italy in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2018.
Right-wing populism,also called national populism and right-wing nationalism,is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments,opposition to the Establishment,and speaking to or for the "common people". Recurring themes of right-wing populists include neo-nationalism,social conservatism,economic nationalism and fiscal conservatism. Frequently,they aim to defend a national culture,identity,and economy against perceived attacks by outsiders. Right-wing populism has remained the dominant political force in the Republican Party in the United States since the 2010s.
The Freedom Party of Austria is a national-conservative,right-wing populist,political party in Austria. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the third largest of five parties in the National Council,with 30 of the 183 seats,and won 16.2% of votes cast in the 2019 legislative election. It is represented in all nine state legislatures,and a member of two state cabinets. On a European level,the FPÖis a founding member of the Identity and Democracy Party and its three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sit with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group.
The Five Star Movement is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte,Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo,a political activist and comedian,and Gianroberto Casaleggio,a web strategist. The party is primarily described as populist,of the syncretic kind,due to its members' insistence that it has no place in the left–right political spectrum. The party is a proponent of green politics,progressivism and direct democracy.
VMRO –Bulgarian National Movement,commonly known as VMRO,is a national conservative political party in Bulgaria.
Brothers of Italy is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy,the country's largest after the 2022 Italian general election. The party is led by Giorgia Meloni,the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy. According to observers,FdI marked Italy's first republican government led by a right-wing party and its most right-wing government since World War II.
The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 18th legislature of the Italian Republic since 1948. The election took place concurrently with the Lombard and Lazio regional elections. No party or coalition gained an absolute majority in the parliament,even though the centre-right coalition won a plurality of seats as a coalition,and the Five Star Movement (M5S) won a plurality of seats as an individual party.
Alternative for Germany is a right-wing populist political party in Germany. AfD is known for its Euroscepticism,as well as for opposing immigration to Germany. As a right-wing party,AfD is commonly positioned on the radical right,a subset of the far-right,within the family of European political parties that does not oppose democracy.
The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019,the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million people from 28 member states. In February 2018,the European Parliament had voted to decrease the number of MEPs from 751 to 705 if the United Kingdom were to withdraw from the European Union on 29 March 2019. However,the United Kingdom participated alongside other EU member states after an extension of Article 50 to 31 October 2019;therefore,the allocation of seats between the member states and the total number of seats remained as it had been in 2014. The Ninth European Parliament had its first plenary session on 2 July 2019.
Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy was a Eurosceptic and populist political group in the European Parliament. The EFDD group was a continuation for the Eighth European Parliament of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group that existed during the Seventh European Parliament,with significant changes to group membership.
The Identity and Democracy Party,abbreviated to ID Party and formerly known as the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF),is an alliance of nationalist,right-wing populist and eurosceptic European political parties founded in 2014. The party has been described as both right-wing and far-right. Its political group in the European Parliament was Europe of Nations and Freedom,which was succeeded in 2019 by Identity and Democracy.
The 2022 Italian general election was a snap election held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government,which led to a parliamentary impasse,President Sergio Mattarella dissolved the parliament on 21 July,and called for new elections. Regional elections in Sicily were held on the same day. The results of the general election showed the centre-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy,a radical-right political party with neo-fascist roots,winning an absolute majority of seats in the Italian Parliament. Meloni was appointed Prime Minister of Italy on 22 October,becoming the first woman to hold that position.
Progressive Slovakia is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Slovakia established in 2017. The party is led by Vice President of the European Parliament Michal Šimečka. It is a member of the Renew Europe group and is a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. PS has three MEPs:Michal Šimečka,Martin Hojsík,and Michal Wiezik;Wiezik left the EPP group and Spolu to join PS. Zuzana Čaputová,incumbent President of Slovakia,co-founder and former deputy leader of Progressive Slovakia who won the 2019 Slovak presidential election,was nominated by the party for the election,focusing her campaign on themes of anti-corruption,environmentalism and Pro-Europeanism. In the National Council,it was first represented by deputy TomášValášek elected for For the People,which he left in 2021. In local politics,PS has a dominant position in Bratislava,cooperating with Team Bratislava and Freedom and Solidarity.
Identity and Democracy is a right-wing to far-right political group of the European Parliament,launched on 13 June 2019 for the Ninth European Parliament term. It is composed of nationalist,right-wing populist and eurosceptic national parties from ten European nations. It is the successor to the Europe of Nations and Freedom group formed during the eighth term.
Lega,whose official name is Lega per Salvini Premier,is a right-wing populist political party in Italy,led by Matteo Salvini. The LSP is the informal successor of Lega Nord and,while sharing the latter's heartland in northern Italy,it is active all around the country.
