IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu evaluated the results of the elections in Italy, one of the founding members of the EU, on 4 March 2018, and attracted notice to the fact that populist and EU-sceptical trends evident in 2017 to have revealed itself in Italy. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu had a statement on the contentious Italian elections:

“When we look at Italy’s election results, we see that central parties are weakening and extremes are strengthening, same as in the major EU countries.  Just as it is for the future of the EU, this situation is also alarming with regards to relations with Turkey. The fact that a far right party, the Northern League, has increased its vote along with the winner of the election, Five Star Movement (MS5), means that the opposition towards an united Europe has strengthened. In addition, Northern League leader Salvini’s statements in which he characterised Turkey’s EU membership process as insanity betrays a dangerous and destructive approach.”

IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu expressed that unlike the other founding members of the Netherlands, Germany and France, which have managed to keep populist and EU-sceptical views in opposition, it is thought-provoking that the parties which will disrupt European integration and Turkey-EU relations received the highest vote in Italy, and continued as follows:

“Italy is one of the founding members of the EU, and one of the countries which form the backbone of the EU following Germany and France. In this respect, drifts in the Italian politics are of utmost importance especially at a time when the EU is discussing its future. When we evaluate the results of the election, we see that there is a shift from the centre to the extremes, and that anti-EU views have gained power. The socio-economic problems, the migration crisis and the feeling of abandonment by the EU led to the extremities in centre-right and centre-left in Italy. MS5, founded by comedian Beppe Grillo in 2009, got 32.22% of the votes and won the Italian elections. Although they define themselves as neither the right nor the left, they implicitly state that their political rhetoric is located on the left of the political scale. The party opposes the inequalities created by the global market and sees the EU and the EU’s dynamos Germany and France as the greatest reason for this situation.”

IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu had also a statement regarding the coalition government that is expected to be established:

“Democratic Party (PD) which received 18.9% of the votes and declined by 6.5 points compared to the 2013 election, suffered a defeat with the results worse than expected. Party Leader Renzi proved that democratic tradition is strong by resigning over the election results.  EU leaders’ supported party, PD, was punished at the polls by Italian citizens who were dissatisfied with the economic stagnation and political instability in the country. It seems unlikely that the coalition government will be established between the M5S and the PD, when considered M5S was the party which opposed the new electoral law proposed by the PD and adopted at the parliament ahead of the elections, in addition to the differences between two parties. The Northern League, which increased its votes by 13.59 points to the third place compared to the 2013 elections, is currently the highest potential coalition partner of the M5S. A party, which will jeopardise both the future of the European integration and Turkey’s full membership process, taking place in the coalition poses a great danger. We hope that following the elections the coalition partner whom M5S will decide on will be a party other than Northern League; since the policies regarding both the EU and Turkey-EU issues will vary depending on the established coalition. Within this regard, we wish Italy’s more integration to the EU, which is shaping its future following Brexit, and particularly the adoption of more moderate approaches to Turkey’s full EU membership process in the founding member of the EU, Italy.”