Italians protest EU rearmament plan led by Five Star Movement

Tens of thousands of people participated in a protest march in Rome on Saturday, led by the Five Star Movement (M5S), against the European Union’s proposed rearmament plan. Recent polls indicate that Italians are among the least enthusiastic populations in the EU regarding increasing defense spending.

Organizers claimed that participation exceeded 80,000, with some estimates approaching 100,000.

The rally followed a similar demonstration last month in Strasbourg, where M5S members of the European Parliament (EP) staged a protest in front of the EP building.

M5S leader and former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte strongly criticized both the EU initiative and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s support for it. Conte described the defense package as “madness” and accused Meloni of supporting the plan without a democratic mandate.

M5S was not alone in the streets. Delegations from other opposition parties, including the center-left Democratic Party and the Green-Left Alliance, also participated in the demonstrations.

Their message appears to reflect broader public sentiment. According to a recent poll by Euractiv, Italians are among the least supportive in the EU when it comes to increasing defense spending.

The poll, conducted in March, indicated that Italy (49%) was the least supportive country in increasing spending, compared to other major European economies such as Germany (79%), France (76%), and Spain (76%).

Among Italians who opposed the increase, 14% said that EU member states should reduce their defense investments, while 37% remained against any increase.

When asked whether they would agree to send soldiers to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping operation after the war ends, 45% of participants supported such a move, while 35% opposed it.

Here too, Italians were the least supportive (35%) of deploying European troops to Ukraine, compared to Germany (41%), France (45%), and Spain (64%). Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had distanced herself from the Franco-British initiative earlier this month.

Nevertheless, 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 defense spending increased during Conte’s time in office.

Tajani said, “I don’t understand what M5S wants. They talk about peace, but when Conte was in government, he allocated more money to the military.”