On Saturday, a major protest broke out in Italy. Tens of thousands marched through Rome in a protest led by the Five Star Movement against the European Union’s proposed rearmament plan, as recent polls show Italians are among the EU’s most reluctant supporters of increased defence spending.
According to Organisers, attendance exceeded 80,000, with some estimates approaching 100,000. The protest began at Rome’s Piazza Vittorio and moved toward the historic Via dei Fori Imperiali, where a rally was held by political leaders, activists, journalists, and cultural figures. The rally followed a similar demonstration held last month in Strasbourg, where M5S lawmakers staged a protest outside the European Parliament.
Giuseppe Conte, leader of M5S and former Italian Prime Minister, delivered a forceful rebuke of both the EU initiative and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s support for it. He described the defence package as “madness” and accused Meloni of backing the plan without a democratic mandate.
“From this square comes a strong and clear message: we do not want a rearmament plan that squanders 800 billion euros and pushes Europe into a war economy,” M5S leader and former prime minister Giuseppe Conte said.
Instead, Conte called for “building roads to peace” with Russia and urged investment in public healthcare and education, insisting that “the future of young people cannot lie in the armed forces.”
The Five Star Movement was not alone in the streets. Delegations from other opposition parties—including the centre-left Democratic Party and the Green-Left Alliance—also took part.
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a massive rearmament plan, intending to draw on up to €800 billion in debt and tax breaks. The so-called ReArm plan is aimed at countering an alleged threat from Russia, an idea that Moscow has dismissed as groundless.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has supported the plan. However, it has reportedly put her at odds with other members of her ruling centre-right coalition.
Their message appears to reflect broader public sentiment. According to a recent Euractiv-exclusive poll, Italians are among the least supportive populations in the EU when it comes to increased defence spending.
Still, the demonstration drew criticism. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani questioned the Five Star Movement’s credibility on the issue, pointing out that defence spending had risen during Conte’s own time in office.
“I don’t understand what M5S wants,” Tajani said. “They talk about peace, but when Conte was in government, he allocated more money to the military.”
The sudden foreign policy change by the US has shocked the European public, as their leaders did not comprehend how they would manage without the US support, which has been the sole driver of their collective foreign policy for decades.
The European leaders look geopolitically inept. Each country has its own huge list of internal issues to be tackled and their populace are not willing to be drawn into external wars and clashes that will jeopardize their safety, security and the economy of their nation. They do not belive they have a stake in a clash with Russia and hence their leaders are also not ready to destroy their political capital for the same.
