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ABSTRACT
This article analyzes the Italian movement of the Sardines that emerged in November 2019 as a reaction to the Lega, the radical right populist party led by Matteo Salvini. On the one hand, it shows that the movement was born out of the incapacity of Italian political parties to articulate an anti-populist response. On the other hand, it demonstrates that the movement was an expression of stylistic anti-populism. As such, the role of the Sardines was to promote a respectful and kind language, the physical mobilization of citizens that contrasted with Salvini’s massive use of social media and defend the idea that politics is a complex issue.
Author Links
ORCiD ID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0316-787X
Acknowledgements
I sincerely thank the Editors of Social Movement Studies and the two anonymous reviewers who provided excellent comments and suggestions that helped me improve the manuscript.
Funder details
None.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. On the relation between populism and social media, see Engesser et al. (Citation2017) and Waisbord and Amado (Citation2017).
2. In English: immigrants/illegal immigrants, foreigners, jus sanguinis (‘right of blood’), sovereignty/Sovereigntism, Italian people, European Union, seat, sardine, kisses/friends, pasta.
3. Omnibus, 19 November 2019; Piazzapulita 21 November 2019; Che tempo che fa, 1 December 2019; Otto e mezzo, 5 December 2019; DiMartedì 6 December 2019; Che tempo che fa, 19 January 2020; Che tempo che fa 9 February 2020; L’aria che tira, 12 February 2020; Piazzapulita, 16 February 2020.
4. ‘Glitzy’ is an informal adjective of the English language but was chosen for its colloquial tone that suits Salvini’s style.
5. Twitter, 13 February 2020.
6. Twitter, 6 September 2019.
7. Twitter, 27 December 2017.
8. Twitter, 17 February 2020.
9. Twitter, 1 September 2019.
10. Twitter, 10 April 2019.
11. Matteo Salvini, European Parliament, 15 March 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGnxss02bP4
12. Twitter, 6 August 2018; Twitter, 30 January 2020; Twitter, 10 February 2020; Twitter 11 February 2020.
13. Twitter, 19 August 2019; Twitter, 20 December 2019.
14. Twitter, 4 February 2020.
15. Twitter, 26 January 2020.
16. Twitter, 28 July 2018; Twitter, 5 August 2018.
17. Twitter, 24 June 2018.
18. Twitter, 19 February 2020
19. Twitter, 17 February 2020.
20. Twitter, 19 November 2019.
21. Twitter, 8 February 2020.
22. Virginia Raggi, Twitter, 14 December 2019. In December 2019, Salvini criticized the fact that Turkish rather than Italian nuts were being used to make Nutella, Italy’s famous spread.
23. Stefano Bonaccini, Repubblica TV, 4 January 2020.
24. Facebook, 30 November 2019.
25. Facebook, 5 December 2019.
26. Mattia Santori, Piazzapulita, November 2019.
27. Twitter, 20 February 2020.
28. Ibidem.
29. Mattia Santori, Piazzapulita, 21 November 2019; Jasmine Cristallo, Otto e mezzo, 25 January 2020.
30. ‘Il Partito Democratico è un partito antifascista che ispira la sua azione al pieno sviluppo dell’Art. 3 della Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana’. ‘Statuto del Partito Democratico: Testo approvato dall’Assemblea Nazionale il 17 novembre Citation2019ʹ.
31. Facebook, 10 December 2019.
32. Facebook 16 December.
33. Facebook, 19 February.
34. Gianni Cuperlo, Otto e mezzo, 22 November 2019.
35. Jasmine Cristallo, Piazzapulita, 28 November 2019.
36. Facebook, 9 December 2019.
37. Facebook, 11 February 2020.
38. Facebook, 6 February 2020.
39. Twitter, 8 February 2020.
40. Mattia Santori, Che tempo che fa, 9 February 2020.
41. Ibidem.
42. Facebook, 26 December 2019.
43. Mattia Santori, Piazzapulita, 15 February 2020.
44. Twitter, 27 January 2020.
45. Facebook, 5 December 2019.
46. Facebook, 26 December 2019.
47. Facebook, 28 December 2019.
48. Facebook, 28 December 2019.
49. Facebook, 20 November 2019.
50. Twitter, 1 December 2019; Facebook, 12 February; Twitter 16 February 2020.
51. Twitter, 12 February 2020.
52. Mattia Santori, Che tempo che fa, 1 December 2019.
53. Twitter, 3 February 2020.
54. Letter addressed to national newspapers La Repubblica, 20 December 2019.
55. Facebook, 15 December 2019.
56. Facebook, 20 November 2019.
57. Facebook, 24 January 2020.
58. Twitter, 30 November 2019.
59. Facebook 1 December 2019.
60. Facebook 5 December 2019.
61. Facebook, 7 January 2020.
62. Facebook, 20 November 2019.
63. Facebook, 17 December 2019.
64. Facebook, 15 December 2019.
65. Facebook, 4 February 2020.
66. Facebook, 11 February 2020.
67. ‘Online politics’ and ‘squares’ are the typical and most recurrent modes of mobilization of Salvini and the Sardines, but they are not the only ones.
Additional information
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Soraya Hamdaoui
Soraya Hamdaoui is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics at the University of York. She was previously a Visiting Research Student in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Santiago (USACH). Her current work focuses on Latin American politics (especially cultural policy in the Southern Cone) and anti-populist parties and movements. She has articles published in the International Journal of Cultural Policy and The British Journal of Politics and International Relations.