Growing fusion of populism and euroscepticism in Italy: A comparative analysis of the league and the five star movement

Abstract

There has been a growing fusion of populism and Euroscepticism in European politics, especially after recent economic and migration crises. Despite being a founding EU member and one of the most Europhile countries, Italy has seen the simultaneous rise of populism and Euroscepticism, especially after the last national elections in 2018. After introducing its conceptual and analytical framework, based on the growing fusion of populism and Euroscepticism, this article compares the League and the Five Star Movement (M5S) in terms of populism and Euroscepticism and their policies before the last European Parliament elections in 2019. The qualitative analysis is based on semi-structured, face-to-face, indepth interviews with elite and expert participants conducted by the author in Italy in 2018.