'Growing increasingly fearful': Across Italy Gaza Protests Raise Pressure on Meloni

A piercing sound of honking vehicles and dockworkers shouting “we don’t want you” greeted an Israel-linked container ship when it arrived in Livorno this week.

For two days, the protesting port laborers stood their ground, declining to handle the ship’s cargo in a display of defiant solidarity for Palestinians and the international aid convoy attempting to deliver aid to Gaza. The action was a triumph and the vessel, bound for the United States and Canada, left the port.

Countrywide Port Actions Spread

From Genoa, Trieste and Ravenna in the northern region, to southern harbors in the southern area, in the past few weeks dock laborers throughout the country have managed in blocking vessels suspected to be carrying arms for Israel, as opposition to the country’s war in the Gaza Strip intensifies.

The workers’ resolve to block weapons and disrupt commerce has been a crucial component of the pro-Palestinian uprising in the nation as demands mounts on Prime Minister Meloni’s far-right government to take a stronger stance against Israel.

“The Israeli military is conducting an systematic destruction of civilians in the Gaza Strip – by taking lives, by starving them,” said a port employee, one protester. “We must not stay silent. We have historically been a port of welcome, not one of war. We will keep demonstrating until this war concludes.”

General Strike Adds Tension

On Friday, many people took to the streets after Italy’s largest trade union called the second general strike in under 14 days, shutting educational institutions, disrupting transport and creating delays on mass transit and in medical services. There were also impromptu demonstrations on midweek after military vessels intercepted the flotilla and arrested hundreds of activists, including the prominent campaigner the environmental advocate.

The event in Livorno was the first time an vessel from Israel carrying commercial goods had been prevented from docking.

Public Opinion and Political Response

Recent surveys show significant support among Italians – including a considerable portion of voters of Meloni’s ruling coalition – for the establishment of a independent Palestine and in support of the humanitarian convoy.

The Prime Minister has spoken against Israel’s killing of Palestinians in recent months, casting it as a “disproportionate” reaction to Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks, and has expressed willingness to the country recognizing a sovereign Palestine, albeit with caveats. But she still attempts to walk a fine line between being one of Israel’s staunchest allies in the EU and a ally of Middle Eastern countries, all the while aligning with the line of the US president, the former president.

Still, she is aware of public opinion, especially with Italy in the throes of multiple local votes, and has sought to use the demonstrations and aid mission to attack her leftwing opponents.

The Prime Minister has characterized the flotilla as “dangerous and irresponsible” and, despite the aid effort involving many participants from different countries, she said it was only targeted at “causing difficulties” for her administration. She criticized the national walkout, claiming Italians of undertaking “a long weekend disguised as a political uprising” while stating the event was politically orchestrated and provided little help to the people of Gaza.

“The Meloni government can only survive with scapegoats,” claimed a union leader, who heads the Livorno unit of the major trade union. “There is also a great contradiction between what the Prime Minister says and what she does,” he continued. “She talks about being a great patriot, a religious person and a parent, but she has not taken any political or diplomatic action to stop the killing of civilian families.”

Government Standing Despite Unrest

But despite the strong public sentiment reflected by the series of solidarity demonstrations, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party remains ahead in surveys, at approximately thirty percent, and she has headed an unusually steady Italian government since coming to power in late 2022.

“From one perspective, there is the majority of the population in solidarity with Gaza which desires an cessation to the war,” explained a political analyst, a co-founder of YouTrend. “But you don’t see the effects of this when it time to cast ballots.”

The analyst referred to recent regional votes in the Marche region where the governing alliance won a another term. The similar result is expected in elections in Veneto and Calabria.

Pregliasco said there was “a real risk of the [Gaza] movement having too much of a partisan association, which would distance individuals who are appalled with the war but who are not pro-Palestinian militants”.

Analyst Perspectives

A political scientist at an American university and the University of Bologna, said the reason why the consequences of the demonstrations were not being seen in elections was because barely half of the electorate go to the polls.

“And those who do, vote for the right,” she added, noting that the Prime Minister could readily leverage the unrest to weaken opponents.

She said every spontaneous movement of citizens was susceptible to being penetrated by opposing groups, and alleged that this had been occurring in order to “discredit and suppress” the solidarity campaign.

Healthcare Community Join

Susanna Romitelli in Rome, has joined several demonstrations in the Italian capital and marched in the protest near Piazza Vittorio on Friday.

“Recently, there was an event held in medical facilities during which we remembered the many healthcare workers killed in the conflict zone while trying to help people,” she stated. “It was a very touching moment and we will keep organizing. You might not see it in election surveys yet, but I believe this administration is becoming deeply concerned of the people.”