Youtrend: euthanasia and the minimum wage are cross-cutting issues. One in four people from Vannaccio supports fascism

The use of nuclear energy is one of the few issues on which the centre-left electorate is in negative territory whilst the country as a whole is in positive territory. The national figure is clear: 51 per cent in favour and 34 per cent against. Among centre-right voters, support rises to 68 per cent, compared with 21 per cent opposed. Among centre-left voters, however, support falls to 42 per cent, with 48 per cent opposed.

There is only one other issue on which the progressive electorate goes against the general trend of what the country seems to approve of: remigration. Roberto Vannacci’s flagship policy (which enjoys maximum popularity amongst his voters: 99 per cent) is supported by 46 per cent of those surveyed, whilst 38 per cent are opposed to it. It is supported by 82 per cent of the centre-right electorate, with the Lega showing lukewarm support at 54 per cent (likely more a reflection of anti-Vannacci sentiment than genuine conviction, given the Lega’s stance against irregular migrants). On the left, 23 per cent of voters view the idea of remigration favourably, with the Five Star Movement (33 per cent) showing greater support than the PD. The equivalent on the right is the Green Deal, which is supported by only one in four voters.

Support for European integration stands at 54 per cent nationally; 25 per cent are opposed. However, support is particularly strong on the left (81%) compared with 44% on the right, where the very high levels of support for Fdi and Fi-Nm (56%) are counterbalanced by scepticism amongst Lega supporters (33%) and blatant aversion of Vannacco. Support for Europe within the General’s ranks plummets to 16 per cent, and this is where the widest divide within the entire coalition on any issue becomes apparent: the gap in support between Futuro Nazionale and Fratelli d’Italia stands at a full 40 points.

The reckoning with the past is most evident amongst the centre-right electorate: fascism (at the bottom of the overall popularity rankings, with 6 per cent in favour and 83 per cent against) is firmly rejected (12 per cent in favour, 75 per cent against), with the sole exception of Fn, amongst whose ranks those with nostalgic sentiments account for 23 per cent, despite 62 per cent being against. The picture is the opposite for communism. Nationally, 21 per cent are in favour and 63 per cent against, but amongst centre-left voters the opinion is perfectly split: 47 per cent in favour, 47 per cent against. On the right, however, rejection is total: 4 per cent in favour, 89 per cent against.

Sovereignty, capitalism and neoliberalism are terms that carry very little weight. Now, just 15 per cent of those surveyed view sovereignty favourably; 65 per cent are opposed to it. Even amongst centre-right voters, unfavourable views, at 51 per cent, outnumber favourable ones (33 per cent). Capitalism, in turn, is viewed favourably by 23 per cent and unfavourably by 53 per cent nationwide, and remains slightly in negative territory even amongst right-wing voters, with 39 per cent in favour compared with 44 per cent against (with a new gap emerging between those in favour within Fdi, at 44 per cent, and those of Futuro Nazionale and the Lega, at 28%). Neoliberalism fares even worse, also suffering from a high number of ‘don’t knows’: 21 per cent versus 38 per cent nationally, 29 per cent versus 33 per cent on the centre-right, and 18 per cent versus 50 per cent on the centre-left. Socialism, on the other hand, remains popular, with 39 per cent in favour overall, 71 per cent on the centre-left and 15 per cent on the centre-right.

“Our analysis,” comments Lorenzo Pregliasco, co-founder and director of Youtrend, Lorenzo Pregliasco, “suggests that certain issues and keywords are more polarising than others, but also that there are catchphrases capable of transcending political divides.” This applies to end-of-life care, the minimum wage, pro-European sentiment, nuclear power and even remigration. This is a point that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her allies Antonio Tajani, Matteo Salvini and Maurizio Lupi should not underestimate: “The centre-right electorate,” observes Pregliasco, “appears to be less ideological than one might think on certain economic and social issues.”