Reform’s rise speaks to a deep crisis in Establishment parties – but relies on appealing to social and economic grievances the left should make its own, argues NICK WRIGHT
Latest editorial
Meloni’s victory is depressing, but deeply limited
Its first woman leader is also the furthest right since Mussolini, and its once mighty far left has been wiped out in the elections — but just how much danger does this new situation represent for Italy and the world, asks NICK WRIGHT
(From left) The League's Matteo Salvini, Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi, and Brothers of Italy's Giorgia Meloni attend the final rally of the far-right coalition in central Rome, Thursday, September 22, 2022
This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The FBU is demanding 52 weeks of full pay for women firefighters, highlighting the unique health risks they face — and the continuing need to recruit and retain more women if policies like this are still not in place, writes SEONA HART
Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world looks on, says RAMZY BAROUD
A new report by Amnesty International pulls no punches in highlighting the Labour government’s human rights violations of those on benefits, says Dr DYLAN MURPHY
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
THE results of the elections to Italy’s parliament and senate make grim reading.
The right-wing alliance took a majority of the votes with Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) on 26.1 per cent, having cannibalised much of its allies’ support. Lega, Matteo Salvini’s outfit, took just 8.9 per cent – down from 17 per cent – while former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia limped in on 8.3 per cent, down from 14 per cent.
This new architecture on the right sets the scene for an internal challenge to Salvini’s leadership, while for Silvio Berlusconi mother nature’s clock is ticking away behind the Botox.
More from this author
The left must avoid shouting ‘racist’ and explain that the socialist alternative would benefit all
The left must confront both far-right bigotry and the undeniable problems the exploitation of migrant workers by the ruling class creates — but there are few lessons from the global left on how to strike this balance, laments NICK WRIGHT
Xenophobic hysteria over the statistically insignificant number of small-boat crossings deliberately conceals how capitalism manipulates population flows for profit — if we can explain that, we’ll beat the right, argues NICK WRIGHT
NICK WRIGHT delicately unpicks the eloquent writings on art of an intellectual pessimist who wears his Marxism lightly
