, Columnist
Europe's Italian Problem Is Bigger Than Brexit
Italy isn't going to leave the European Union. That's what makes it so dangerous.
What Italy could do to Brussels.
Photographer: Harvey Meston/Archive Photos/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
The new government finally taking shape in Italy is one of the weirdest coalitions you could imagine — and a pretty effective combination if your aim was to sabotage the European Union. Although predictions about where this Italian misadventure is heading are difficult, it could easily be worse than Brexit for the EU.
The coalition partners — the left-populist Five Star Movement led by Luigi Di Maio and the right-populist League led by Matteo Salvini — are poles apart in most respects, but come together over immigration, disdain for politics as usual and dislike of the EU.