In an annual ranking of democracies, established by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Italy fell 12 places compared to last year, dropping to the 33rd place in the 2018 ranking.
This drop is linked to the measures implemented by Matteo Salvini’s League (far-right), a strong figure within the government.
Although the ruling coalition also includes the Five Star Movement (M5S), an anti-system movement, the report mainly blames the vice-premier and interior minister of the League, Matteo Salvini. He “often used anti-foreigner rhetoric,” as recalled by the report and the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“All this contributes to the risk of deteriorating civil liberties,” states the report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The annual ranking also points out that the Italian government mentions potential new dangers to reduce citizens’ freedoms.
The top five in the ranking are, in order, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Denmark. Following are Ireland and Canada, which are tied. For the EU, one can note Finland in 8th place, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 11th and 12th, Germany and the United Kingdom in 13th and 14th, Spain in 19th, France in 29th, and Belgium in 31st place.
Within the EU, the lowest-ranked countries are the Czech Republic at 34th, Cyprus at 35th, Slovenia and Lithuania at 36th, Latvia at 38th, Greece at 39th, Slovakia at 44th, Bulgaria at 46th, Poland at 54th, Hungary at 57th, Croatia at 60th, and Romania at 66th.
The top ten countries in the EU, up to and including Spain, are considered “full democracies,” while the others are referred to as “flawed democracies.”
