Our article "Parties Come and Go, Confindustria Remains," published in Courant Alternatif in February 2023 (1), concluded with the observation that social struggles, however weakened they may have been in recent years, were still very much alive. Two years later, we have moved from a movement that was still active but too limited to the cultural and activist sphere of a more or less radical left, to a profoundly popular movement that, even if it is not the majority in the country, transcends the political and union frameworks to draw on solidarity with Gaza and a pacifist sentiment firmly rooted in society. At the same time, the Meloni government is doing nothing more than applying the old capitalist recipe: squeezing the proletarian lemon to save an acceptable profit rate for companies in crisis.
When Societal, Political, and Social Issues Intertwine
We cited as evidence of the continued vitality of social protest the "general strike" of November 17, 2023, against the government's anti-social measures contained in the finance law (penalizing employees who wish to retire before age 67, as is their right, eliminating the RSA[minimum income support], and restricting the right to strike). Called by the CGIL and UIL unions, as well as the Basic Trade Union (USB) (2) and left-wing political parties, it led to demonstrations for "a fairer future" in all major cities. The demonstration in Rome brought together 50,000 people behind a banner proclaiming "the people are hungry." This numerical success should be put into perspective, however, since a week later, in the same city, several hundred thousand people took to the streets to protest violence against women. While this was certainly a central national gathering, it's still clear that the gap is blurring, even reversing, between the two objectives of mobilization: the social and the societal, insofar as this distinction still holds any meaning. The same
pattern repeated itself a year later with the surge of solidarity with the beleaguered Gaza, which served as the backbone for expressing all the demands. It's a kind of Italian peculiarity that popular movements concerning social issues and the rejection of governments are expressed as much, and sometimes even more, in political mobilizations than in traditional union action.
Solidarity with Gaza is entering the political landscape...
Outrage at the policies pursued by the State of Israel in Gaza since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, has only grown, giving rise to unprecedented mobilizations. These mobilizations may appear spontaneous, but they were only partially so. Starting in November 2023, general assemblies became widespread in universities to form activist groups tasked with informing the public about the ongoing genocide. Initiatives "for Gaza" multiplied in the streets, in schools, and also in workplaces, thanks in part to the engagement on the Palestinian issue of smaller unions like Cobas, CUB, USB, and USI. These unions made this issue a focus for remobilizing the working class and further asserted their distinct identity and usefulness in the eyes of the public, in contrast to the three major unions.
Initially, the parliamentary left (the Democratic Party - PD, the Five Star Movement, and the Alliance of Greens and Left - AVS) considered October 7th a terrorist act and supported Israel's right to self-defense. It was under pressure from the massive popular movement in support of the Gazans that it softened its stance. However, this shift was more aimed at attacking Meloni, a traditional ally of Israel within the EU, than at actively participating in the mobilization or simply calling for demonstrations. It should be noted that the Meloni government, too, was ultimately forced, under pressure from the street, to soften its position and suspend arms deliveries (3).
... It draws on a pacifist tradition...
To explain this dynamic, which arose without and against institutional forces, we can refer to a certain pacifist tradition in Italian society. For two decades, any traveler to the peninsula noticed the appearance of rainbow flags emblazoned with the word "peace" in capital letters, displayed in windows and on balconies at demonstrations. Or rather, the reappearance, since it was in the 1960s, in the context of the Cold War, that this flag first emerged as a symbol of rejection of war. Regular opinion polls confirm that the vast majority of Italians oppose the rearmament of their country and of Europe, and that almost all oppose the deployment of European troops to Ukraine. This sentiment is also shared by some right-wing, even far-right, voters, if not by all of their leaders.
The widespread popular stereotype (especially in France!) of the Italian soldier only ever seen from behind as he flees the enemy is intended to be contemptuous and expresses a certain anti-Italian racism. However, it is not merely a militaristic myth; it corresponds to a certain reality. A reality that, in our view, would rather inspire admiration! Italian pacifism has many facets: in part, it resembles that which France experienced at the beginning of the 20th century, driven by a revolutionary project, but also the Christian-social-democratic dream of a world where war would be purely economic. I refer the reader to two films emblematic of this duality: Mario Monicelli's *The Great War* (1960) with Gassman and Sordi, and F. Rosi's *Men Against* (1971) with Gian Maria Volonte.
Thus, the 1948 Constitution affirms that "Italy repudiates war as an instrument for infringing upon the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international conflicts." This is a consequence of the suffering endured by a country that has only existed since 1861, a logical outcome of the Risorgimento, conceived as the expression of an emancipatory European process, and whose patriotism did not have time to develop against a hereditary enemy.
A long series of mass mobilizations for peace followed, centered on opposing the presence of American bases in the south, particularly in Naples and Sicily. Although often led by the Italian Communist Party (PCI), the fall of the USSR did not hinder this movement, which continued against the presence of missiles. On two occasions, Italy voted in referendums against the presence of nuclear weapons on its soil. We remember the No MUOS movement in Sicily, which began in 2012 against the construction of a US telecommunications center on the island and in which the anarchist movement was particularly active.
Clearly, if the number of demonstrators has been so high in the last two years, both for Gaza, against the increase in the military budget, and against budget cuts in sectors deemed essential, such as education and healthcare, this cannot be solely attributed to the "left-wing masses" from the labor movement. Significant segments of Catholicism have been swayed by the horrors of the images coming out of Gaza. The memory of postwar Italy, devastated by war, still exists, along with the instinctive rejection of war. Antimilitarism, therefore, is not exclusively a left-wing phenomenon.
... and anchors in certain ports.
From Porto Marghera (Venice) to Genoa and Livorno, calls from dockworkers and/or activist groups have multiplied to block arms shipments to Israel. The "Siamo tutti"antifascistThe anti-Zionist movement spread like wildfire.
The movement for Gaza gained new momentum with the departure of the "Global Sumud flotilla" when an activist from the autonomous collective of port workers in Genoa decided to join the flotilla. An incredible wave of solidarity then swept through the city to raise funds in support of this initiative. A demonstration there brought together tens of thousands of people. It should be noted that this collective had already mobilized in 2021 against an arms shipment to Saudi Arabia intended for the war in Yemen, and that smaller unions are particularly well-established in the port sector of Genoa.
In two years, the Palestinian cause has become a symbol, rallying those who previously lacked a way, an opening, to express their anger. Much like the Vietnam War once galvanized energies across all continents, a shared global cause empowers individuals to overcome their sense of isolation from their own privileged class.
Italian trade unionism
The three major trade unions (CGIL, CISL, and UIL) roughly correspond to their French counterparts (CGT, CFDT and FO).
As for the small unions, one of their common points is that they opposed, in 2010, the protocol between Confindustria (the employers' association) and the three large CGIL-CISL-UIL.
The Cobas (base committees) emerged in the 1980s as a genuine expression of the proletarian base following the struggles of the 1970s. Now they accept being part of the union galaxy of the "little guys".
The Unitary Basic Confederation (CUB), founded in 1992, is the largest of the autonomous trade union movement with several hundred thousand members. It is part of the Network of Alternative and Grassroots European Trade Unions, like the Spanish CGT, Solidaires in France, and the Italian USI.
The Basic Trade Union (USB), formed in 2010 from a split within the CUB, is affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions, formerly (or perhaps still?) communist (Stalinist?). The French CGT withdrew from it in 1995.
SICobas (Cobas inter-category union): strong in logistics. Founded in 2010 following a split from SlaiCobas. (a few tens of thousands)
USI anarcho-syndicalist/anarchist. Founded in 1907, it split in 1996 into one USI affiliated with the IWA (International Workingmen's Association) and another called USI-CIT.
For more on these grassroots unions, see:
"Thirty Years of Grassroots Unionism"
CA May 2024 - Cosimo Scarinzi (Collegamenti) - OCL translation
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4158
"The Small Galaxy of Alternative Unionism"
Cosimo Scarinzi (translated by Nicole Thé) June 15, 2012 - La question sociale n°3
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article1229
The political and economic context
The 2025 budget law is strikingly similar to that of 2023: it aims to satisfy the European Union's demands for Italy to reduce deficits deemed "excessive" and a "colossal" public debt hovering around 7.2% of GDP. However, there's a significant new element this year! It's no longer just about satisfying the EU, but also NATO, which requires a minimum of 2% of GDP to be allocated to military spending. Italy will therefore have to include in its budget an arms purchase... which will, of course, be sold by the United States.
But the "Italian miracle" of the decades following the Second World War is long gone. The Marshall Plan is now just a memory; the steel boom is now a flop (for example, ArcelorMittal in Taranto is about to be placed under state control to prevent the bankruptcy of an over-indebted company deemed "essential to the national strategic interest," due to the militarization of the economy). Furthermore, what was once a boon to this "miracle" has become a serious liability: a productive fabric largely composed of numerous family-run SMEs, once dynamic, but whose aging patriarchs have failed to find successors due to stagnant productivity and the resulting decline in investment to make them competitive. Many of these companies are being bought out by large corporations, with the accompanying wave of layoffs.
Italian leaders, regardless of their political affiliation, are thus mandated by big business to manage this delicate period in Italian capitalism as best they can. There seems to be only one solution: squeeze the working class dry. Austerity measures have been implemented one after another since the beginning of the century, regardless of the supposed political leanings of the governments in power.
More recently, Covid has further widened the wealth gap. The country has gained an additional million people living in poverty, bringing the number below the absolute poverty line to almost 6 million, or 10% of Italy's 60 million inhabitants.
The three fuels of the movement
Gaza, the militaristic budget, and austerity measures are the three fuels of the social movement's resurgence. These three areas reinforce each other without structurally unifying as leftists might dream, but they converge to form an active political and cultural sphere within society. While the smaller unions, all more or less marked by the concepts of autonomy and grassroots organizing, have managed to play their part positively in this sequence, initiating many gatherings and often, through their members, leading the activist groups that formed around the Gaza issue, the CGIL (General Confederation of Independent Labor) found itself in a difficult position. Certainly, it too mobilized for the end of the Gaza blockade and even participated in or initiated many actions. But it was important for it to always remain within the institutional framework and therefore, for example, to respect the laws restricting strikes. Furthermore, she has another concern: maintaining her hegemony over the world of wage earners and not being outmaneuvered by these "smaller" unions. This explains many of her hesitations, changes of course, and refusals to unite. Clearly, her desire to maintain control hinders the broader development of the movement.
November 17, 2023
During the day of protests on November 17, 2023, against the finance law (which we mentioned at the beginning of this article), support for the Palestinian people was a powerful presence in the demonstrations. It continued to grow in the following weeks. The statement from social science students in Macerata, in the Marches region, clearly illustrates the prevailing sentiment within the universities: "Showing our solidarity and support for those who have suffered the violence of Israeli colonialism for over 75 years is more important than any course or academic activity. The only lesson we consider essential today is the one the Palestinian people have been giving the world for over a month." This surge is not unrelated to a tentative resurgence of a student movement that had been relatively quiet recently, in a gloomy context where the number of hours of strikes by employees had also been plummeting for the past fifteen years. It is important to emphasize here that student protest is not limited to pro-Gaza activism. It is based on a renewed critique of the content and purpose of university studies, and not just of working conditions and insufficient funding. Ending the corporate stranglehold on education is once again a recurring theme.
The same scenario played out again with even more force three months later during the "general strike" day of February 3, 2024.
These two strikes were, in fact, only general in name, as they were led by a minority of workers. Nevertheless, they opened the door to a broader movement, both socially, in its protest against the Meloni government, and in its solidarity with the Palestinians.
There were highly significant moments, such as the blockades of ports in Genoa and Salerno, and of certain industries particularly linked to Israel: Leonardo and other Israeli or Israeli-owned military industries. There were demonstrations, some of which were banned, like the one in Rome on October 5, 2024, which nevertheless took place because the government was forced to authorize it half an hour before its official start, faced with the thousands of people who were heading there despite the ban. It was these struggles for the Palestinian people that paved the way for the strikes of September 22 and October 3, as they established the legitimacy and visibility of the protest for Palestine.
September to October 2025: A dialectic between grassroots unionism and the CGIL
September 19 and September 22, 2025: Disunity
The CGIL (General Confederation of Independent Labor) chose to act independently by organizing a national strike on September 19th to "protest against Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip and express its support for the Palestinian people." This strike only affected the private sector, as public services such as transportation, education, and healthcare require more advance notice and are limited to four hours per day. The CGIL's decision to comply with this requirement and its refusal to join forces with other unions led to criticism within the organization and significant discontent among its rank and file.
The result: the day for Gaza, organized three days later, on the 22nd, by the CUB, USB, SiCobas, and USI-CIT (without the CGL), was exceptionally large and unexpected. The enthusiasm to support the international freedom flotilla en route to break the blockade of the Palestinian enclave snowballed. Shouting "blocchiamo tutto" (we block everything), tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in all the major cities of the country, with serious incidents in Milan. Dockworkers blocked the ports of Genoa, Livorno, Ravenna, and Venice-Marghera to prevent arms shipments to Israel. There was strong student participation... and that of the Five Star Movement, whose position was no longer entirely clear, if indeed it even knew itself. (4)
October 3, 2025: The Union
Given this situation, the CGIL, in order to maintain contact with part of its membership, has agreed to a joint call with the CUB, USB, and the Cobas Confederation for a strike on October 3rd, with the new objective of denouncing the boarding of the World Freedom Flotilla announced on the evening of the 1st (which promises an even larger mobilization). The CGIL's hardening stance against a right-wing government is also explained by its need to distinguish itself from the CISL, which tends to submit to government dictates, and from the UIL, which wavers between the two.
The CGIL wants to remain a dominant left-wing union and has learned from the events of September 22nd...
With over a million participants-more than on the 22nd-(more than 100,000 in Rome and Milan, but also in Turin, Genoa, and Naples), these demonstrations were the largest in Italy in 20 years. Strike participation was significant, higher in the public sector than in the private sector, but according to the Cobas (a local trade union group), it was not yet a mass strike. What was evident that day was a genuine unity at the grassroots level and in the streets between local unions and the CGIL (a local trade union federation).
Another important aspect of this day: it has, for the first time in years, cracked the anti-strike legislation which claims to limit the duration of a work stoppage to 4 hours per day.
The success of October 3rd and the growing momentum of the pro-Gaze movement made it imperative to set a new date, as soon as possible, for an even larger day of action. However, nothing would be simple. A number of unions and associations proposed November 28th, but the CGIL (General Confederation of Labour of Ile-de-France) unilaterally announced that it would organize a general strike... on December 12th. The official reason given for its position was that it felt more time was needed to better prepare and organize the day, particularly because it mistakenly believed that the atmosphere, enthusiasm, and mobilization that prevailed at the beginning of October seemed to have waned. The real reason was that significant sectors of the CGIL apparatus did not see the point in allying with rank-and-file unions, and that many apparatchiks clearly felt it was time to return to the old ways: CGIL first, great again!
The disagreement was primarily political. Maurizio Landini, the general secretary of the CGIL, clearly states that this day will be "fully union-oriented," which in reality means that the Palestinian question will be put aside, contrary to the call from the grassroots unions for whom the strike on the 28th should allow them to meet a challenge: "linking the struggle for Palestine to the economic and working conditions in Italy."
On November 5th, the Cobas Scuola published an appeal for an agreement on the date between the grassroots unions and the CGIL, and for the withdrawal of the two summonses in order to agree on a new, joint date. In vain.
November 28-29, 2025
The call from the USB, CUB, COBAS, SGB, and others was ultimately maintained for a general strike on November 28 and a national demonstration in Rome on November 29 "against the finance law that is steering the country towards a war economy and to defend Palestine, against Zionism and capitalism."
Tens of thousands of people were mobilized across the country in transportation, healthcare, education, public administration, and private industry. Rail and air traffic were severely disrupted, with a 24-hour work stoppage on trains beginning on the evening of November 27 and the cancellation of at least 26 flights by ITA Airways. Urban transport networks were slowed or even completely paralyzed. Highway workers walked out. Healthcare workers stopped work while ensuring the continuity of emergency services. Schools, town halls, and logistics platforms participated extensively in the movement. The following day, the demonstration in Rome drew well over 100,000 people. This day undeniably demonstrated the mobilization capacity of the smaller unions as a whole and the relevance of the combined struggle between social demands and support for Palestine.
On December 12, the strike against the "unjust, flawed, and ineffective finance law," organized by the CGIL, culminated in a rally of 100,000 people in Florence, during which Landini called for only a paltry "progressive tax system and a solidarity contribution from the wealthiest," falling far short of the hopes raised in the preceding weeks. The suppression of internationalism clearly indicates the bureaucracy's desire to prevent both the opposition to the war and the support for Gaza from transforming into a political movement for fundamental social change-a desire expressed, on the contrary, by a broad base of smaller unions and the various collectives that emerged during this period.
Many Italian activists believe the Gaza movement isn't as strong as in Great Britain. That's probably true, but we, for our part, would be happy if it were simply a little weaker in France than in Italy! A few years ago, the more or less anti-capitalist political and cultural sphere of the peninsula looked to France and its Yellow Vests; now it's up to us here to recognize that there's much to learn from the other side of the Alps. In particular, we need to learn how to break down this deadly barrier between unions and politics, a barrier that strengthens bureaucratic structures and stifles the spontaneous movements that self-proclaimed vanguards try to control.
To conclude, a few words on a question that has generated much ink and heated debate among political scientists, specialists, journalists, and many other "-ists": Has Italy become a fascist country? Is Meloni a fascist? And what about Salvini? And even the Five Star Movement? What is certain is that fascism relies on an anesthetized, submissive, and passive population, and strives to maintain this state through terror. Current events clearly demonstrate that this passivity is far from absolute! So whether Meloni is a fascist or not, I don't care. Clearly, Italy is far from being a country where fascism has triumphed, and that's the main point.
JPD
Notes
(1) Italy: Parties come and go, but the Confindustria remains, Alternative Current 337, February 2024
(2) See inset on the Italian trade union landscape.
(3) Italy is the third largest arms supplier to Israel after the USA and Germany.
(4) Grillo, an Italian Coluche?, Alternative Current 230, May 2013
P.S.
For more information, please consult
On the website of our comrades at Collegamenti,
"The general strike of 28/11/25, perspectives and problems" (in Italian)
https://collegamenti.noblogs.org/post/2025/11/07/sciopero-generale-del-28-novembre-2025-prospettive-e-problemi/#more-1405
On the OCL website,
"Fascism, really?" (In French)
CA 355 December 2025 - G Soriano
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4578
"Italy Today: New and Recycled" (in French)
CA February 2019 - G Soriano
https://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article2207
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4640
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Link: (en) France, OCL CA #357 - Italy: Two Years of a Resurgence of Social and Political Conflict (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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