Italy shows how easily Europe's leftwing strongholds can fall to the right | Rosa Gilbert

Matteo Salvini has failed to capture Tuscany. But as the extreme right becomes more mainstream, the left must make a better offer

Europe is watching us", declared La Nazione newspaper in Tuscany, the only Italian leftwing stronghold that the centre-left managed to retain in the 2019 European elections. This weekend, it was on the verge of having its first ever rightwing governor. Ultimately, Matteo Salvini's anti-immigrant League party failed to capture Tuscany, but it would be a mistake for the continent to become complacent. That the right came so close in a red region" betrays deep underlying issues in Italian politics and society, years in the making, which have parallels across the world.

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