Two Faces of Euroscepticism in Contemporary Italian Politics: League for Salvini Premier (Lega per Salvini Premier) and Five Star Movement (MoVimento 5 Stelle)
Two Faces of Euroscepticism in Contemporary Italian Politics: League for Salvini Premier (Lega per Salvini Premier) and Five Star Movement (MoVimento 5 Stelle)

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes two distinct models of Euroscepticism within contemporary Italian politics: the regionalist-sovereign model represented by the League for Salvini Premier and the participatory-deregulatory model embodied by the Five Star Movement (M5S). It traces the League’s evolution from regional separatism to a form of hard Euroscepticism, a shift propelled by both leadership decisions and major European crises. In stark contrast, the M5S’s Euroscepticism was initially moderate and driven by its grassroots membership before it eventually moved toward a pro-European, reformist stance. The analysis argues that Euroscepticism is a dynamic, context-dependent phenomenon whose intensity and form vary significantly across different political groups. By examining these two Italian cases, the paper illustrates broader European trends, demonstrating that Euroscepticism can function either as a temporary political strategy or as a core ideological tenet.

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