Immigration and the Italian Left Democrats in government (1996–2001)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Andall focuses on the Democratici di Sinistra (DS), a mainstream left party, during their first period of post-war national governance in Italy. She seeks to establish whether the DS were able to shape the direction of immigration politics in Italy in a ‘left’ direction while in government. Her analysis looks at their approach to the integration of labour migrants, focusing primarily on the political management of access to Italian citizenship and the local vote. She demonstrates how the anti-immigration activities of the Lega Nord inhibited the implementation of the DS's stated policy intentions in matters of integration. As a consequence, left–right convergence occurred regarding immigration control, while left–right differentiation in relation to integration remained largely at the rhetorical level.