Italy says “No” to PM Matteo Renzi: Economic Stagnation, Mass Immigration, and Visegrad Group
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, was firmly rebuked by the majority of Italians who voted on a referendum on constitutional reform. Yet, in truth, just like the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, individuals voted in areas outside of the main theme of both referendums. In other words, issues related to economics, endless mass immigration, anti-European Union populism, the feeling of international corporatism dictating, political elites being out of touch with “the street,” the dilution of culture, unemployment, and other important factors, all enabled the Five Star Movement and the Northern League to bring disparate groups together.
This reality led to Renzi being defeated comfortably because he seems aloof about the real problems facing the Italian people. At the same time, he rebukes nations in Europe like Hungary that seeks to protect this continent, while adopting a migration policy based on “come on in.” Equally alarming, Renzi adopted aloof stances while Italians are suffering from high unemployment, economic stagnation, and a banking sector with major debt issues.
Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Northern League that opposes mass immigration, was delighted by the referendum victory. Salvini states that the clear-cut result is a “victory of the people against the strong powers of three-quarters of the world.”
The BBC says, “The referendum comes in the wake of the Brexit vote in the UK in June, and coincides with the rise of the anti-immigrant Front National in France and populist parties elsewhere. It also comes less than a month after the election of Donald Trump in the United States.”
Renzi immediately acknowledged the defeat and made it clear that he would resign. He said, “Tomorrow the President of the Republic will have a meeting with me and I will hand in my resignation… I take on full responsibilities for defeat and so I say I lost, not you.”
In truth, the size of the defeat meant Renzi had no option but it remains unknown how the President will respond. On top of this, the next general election is not scheduled until early 2018. Therefore, the next few days will witness clearer signs about the next steps to be taken by Italy.
It is known that the Five Star Movement party wants to abandon the euro. Similarly, the Northern League is disillusioned with endless mass immigration and the elites of the European Union who are aloof about the real convulsions shaking many parts of Europe.
Visegrad
Indeed, it is time to learn from the Visegrad Group that consists of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. After all, the Visegrad Group is focused on the original fundamentals of Europe in relation to business, faith, family, ideas, innovation, philosophy, science, and moving forward within the cultural framework that shaped Europe since Christianity altered the European landscape.
Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, said, “We can finally return the age of free discourse, when one should not be afraid anymore of being excluded for conservative thoughts… When we talked about human existence, we were labeled medieval and clerical; when we talked about family, we were labeled sexist and homophobic… We are now returning from liberal non-democracy to freedom.”
Poland released a statement saying, “The Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have a common historical legacy, and cherish common values arising from Europe’s Christian roots. The Visegrad Group must be close to the people. That is why we will take the initiative to forge closer ties between our societies, as well as promote and propagate the cultures of Central European countries through educational and research projects.”
If the European Union ignores powerful blocs like the Visegrad Group and political elites from France, Germany, and Italy, continue to ignore the voices of the abandoned indigenous – then just like the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, other nations will follow. Similarly, if Germany maintains its mass migration “come on in policy” and the growing tentacles of Sunni Salafi Islam continues to be a menacing fifth column, then the convulsions shaping the political landscape now will pale into insignificance.
Modern Tokyo Times in the past said, “It is also essential for the Visegrad Group to enhance this block by reaching out to Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, and other nations within the geopolitical space of this important grouping. In other words, the best way to preserve the European Union and identity of this continent is to hold firm against the whims of leaders like Chancellor Merkel of Germany. If not, the consequences will be extremely severe because currently nations like Belgium, France, and Germany, have major internal issues. This notably applies to crime, growing divisions in society, the growth of Sunni Islamism, terrorism, mass immigration (often neglecting the most vulnerable, for example the Alawites, Middle East Christians, refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and minority groups like the Yazidis), and other important areas.”
In other words, the “heart and soul of Europe is at stake” and clearly individuals like Chancellor Merkel of Germany and President Hollande of France, just like Renzi in Italy and the political liberal elites dictating through the institutions of the European Union, are all looking in the wrong directions. Therefore, Visegrad offers the hope of stability but if the same political elites keep on ignoring “the street,” then real convulsions are yet to take shape.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38204189
http://moderntokyotimes.com/?p=5507
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
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