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Italy

What is happening there and why it matters.

So it makes sense

Italy is the euro area’s third largest economy and a country living off two tensions: a high public debt that ties its hands at every budget, and a position on the main Mediterranean migration route, which makes it both a gateway into the Union and a central actor in the arguments over who takes care of arrivals. The summer of 2026 there was also about wildfires in Sardinia, storms that devastated Cremona, and the theft of works by Antonello da Messina from a museum in Sicily.

Who governs
The prime minister is Giorgia Meloni, who leads a right-wing coalition. Its loudest member is Matteo Salvini — on migration and on budget disputes he speaks for the government in the hardest terms: he rejects returning migrants from Germany to Italy and warned the country should raise its 2027 deficit by at least 20 billion euros. Meloni is meanwhile demanding millions from Berlin over migrants and blames it for two thirds of arrivals.
Who opposes
In Brussels Meloni is among those pressing to cut red tape — in August 2026 European Parliament president Roberta Metsola backed her on it. That is what matters about Italian politics for the rest of Europe: a party born on the fringe has become the mainstream, and serves the far right elsewhere as a manual for reaching power.
Next election
The next parliamentary election is expected in 2027.

Context verified 30. 8. 2026. We update it when the government changes or an election comes — the news below is live.

What Italian media say about themselves

last 4. 10. at 08:09
  • Slavery suspicion in a cult in Val di Susa: three charged women were also victims of the guru, according to investigators — According to the press, they washed and dressed the "master", Bruno Malatesta; the women are charged with complicity in enslavement.
  • Conte: after Schlein's statements there is no alternative to primaries; in Pd they fear online voting — Senator Sensi warns in Corriere against voting "from Minsk"; Schlein and Conte, meanwhile, agreed on rejecting higher defence spending.
  • More than 10,000 stations have adopted the fuel price cap, but the diesel discount ends on Monday — Petrol is below €2 and diesel below €2.20 at 52% of outlets; the excise duty cut on diesel of 6.1 cents per litre applies only until Monday.
  • Prosecutors seek 20 precautionary measures in the case of rigged defence contracts — The investigation involves the Defence Ministry, the navy, the air force, and Rfi and Terna; Chamber deputy speaker Mulè is not charged, but according to prosecutors a businessman approached him about an officer's promotion.
  • A Senate pass belonging to a former Pd spokesman was found on a soldier suspected of spying for Russia — The card was found during a search on 7 July in the apartment of a non-commissioned officer who, according to the Rome prosecutor's office, passed secret information to Russian services.
  • Court in Caltanissetta closes the "Mafia and Contracts" file: charges time-barred, evidence missing — The judge archived both strands concerning a possible link to the 1992 killings; the charges against Pignatone and Natoli have become time-barred.
  • Intesa raises its offer for Mps by 25 cents per share, the offer's value rises to €31.4bn — The cash component is €3.8bn; at the same time, Intesa calls on Mps shareholders to reject the bank's management plan.
  • Rome asks the EU for €14bn in flexibility for both 2027 and 2028, for energy and defence — In total, almost €29bn will go to energy and defence; Pd, M5s and the Cgil unions called arms spending "madness".

How the neighbours see it

mentions of the country in media of surrounding states
  • Italy pushes ahead with deportation centres, Spain voted against "Meloni's centres" — Madrid, during the vote on the regulation, expressed "enormous concerns" about return hubs.
  • Italy bans face covering in schools and introduces a 30% quota for foreign children — The decree was signed by President Mattarella; according to Croatian television, it applies in all schools.
  • Italian Senate gives the government 12 months to set rules for a nuclear return, reactors from 2034 — According to Le Monde, Meloni is preparing to return to nuclear power forty years after abandoning it.

What happened

9 reports over 14 days in 7 events

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