Politics in Italy and The Fall of LEGA During COVID-19

Abstract

COVID-19 process that started in 2020 has been one of the most important crises confronted globally in recent years. While the process, which started as a health crisis, affected the whole world as a global crisis in a short time, countries took successive measures and the dynamics of the political field also changed. In the face of this process that affected the dynamics of politics in the relevant countries, political actors in power and opposition had to base their policies on the crisis and its effects. But how do political parties address the problem in times of crisis? It is argued that ruling parties have an advantage in times of crisis and enjoy a high level of public support in times of crisis. In this context, crises create a political atmosphere in which the government dominates and depoliticizes the political sphere. In this atmosphere, opposition parties try to create space for themselves, produce a new discourse and address the problem by associating it with political power. Based on this framework, the study examines the course of Italian politics in the first year of COVID-19 through the example of the far-right party Lega. Italy, which is among the countries in Europe where the effects of the pandemic are felt most severely, is also a dynamic field of analysis in terms of political parties. In the face of the crisis, Lega had difficulty in producing a new discourse with the loss of the impact of the immigration issue, which was one of its most effective discourses, and was criticized for its attitude towards the current crisis and lost its social support day by day by portraying the image of an irresponsible opposition party and leader.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Lega
• Italy
• Salvini
• Political Parties

COVID-19 Döneminde İtalyan Siyaseti ve LEGA’nın Düşüşü

Öz

Küresel olarak son yıllarda karşılaşılan en önemli krizlerden birini 2020 yılında başlayan COVID-19 süreci oluşturmuştur. Sağlık krizi olarak başlayan süreç kısa süre içerisinde küresel bir kriz olarak tüm dünyayı etkisi altına alırken ülkeler birbirini takip eden tedbirler almış ve siyasal alanın da dinamikleri değişmiştir. İlgili ülkelerdeki siyasetin dinamiklerini etkileyen bu süreç karşısında iktidar ve muhalefetteki siyasal aktörler de politikalarını kriz ve etkileri üzerinden temellendirmek zorunda kalmıştır. Peki kriz anlarında siyasal partiler sorunu nasıl ele almaktadır? İktidar partilerinin kriz anlarında avantaj sahibi olduğu ve kriz anında kamuoyunun yüksek düzeyde desteğine eriştiği ifade edilmektedir. Bu kapsamda krizler iktidarın siyasal alanı domine ettiği ve siyasetsizleştirdiği bir siyasal atmosfer yaratmaktadır. Muhalefet partileri de bu atmosferde kendilerine alan açmak, yeni bir söylem üretmek ve sorunu siyasal iktidar ile ilişkilendirerek ele almaktadır. Bu çerçeveden hareketle çalışma İtalyan siyasetinin COVID-19’un ilk yılındaki seyrini aşırı sağ parti Lega örneği üzerinden incelemektedir. Avrupa ülkeleri arasında salgının etkilerinin en şiddetli hissedildiği ülkeler arasında yer alan İtalya, siyasal partiler açısından da dinamik bir inceleme sahasıdır. Kriz karşısında Lega en etkili söylemlerinden biri olan göç meselesinin etkisini kaybetmesiyle yeni söylem üretmekte zorlanmış mevcut kriz karşısında takındığı tutumdan dolayı eleştirilmiş ve sorumsuz bir muhalif parti ve lider imajı çizerek toplumsal desteğini günden güne kaybetmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• COVID-19
• Lega
• İtalya
• Salvini
• Siyasal Partiler

Kaynakça

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