Conte at The Hague. On Tuesday, Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, now leader of the opposition Five Star Movement (M5S), travelled to The Hague, where the NATO summit is ongoing, to protest against Europe’s rearmament plans and the decision to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP.
- Speaking in the Chamber after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s EU-Council address, Conte vowed to “keep a close eye” on Meloni at the NATO leaders’ meeting.
- “Filling arsenals with tanks, missiles, and weapons is not the solution,” he declared on Monday, urging a focus on economic security for Italians.
- “Either Europe ends wars, or wars will end Europe,” he added.
- The 5% target is an “economic, political and social suicide, because it does not correspond to the priorities of citizens, nor a need for real security”, Conte said on Tuesday at the “No rearm, no war” rally in The Hague.
Who’s in. Joining the protest were MEPs and party figures from Spain’s Sumar (sans leader Estrella Galán), France Insoumise (Manon Aubry via video), Greece’s Course of Freedom (Zoe Konstantopoulou), the Communist Parties of Portugal and Cyprus, Belgium’s Workers’ Party and the Czech pro-Russian Stačilo! (Enough!).
- Notably absent was Italy’s Greens & Left Alliance, excluded by M5S organisers and uneasy over Germany’s Sahra Wagenknecht attending—criticised by parts of the European Left for her anti-immigration stance.
- It’s a long way from the M5S’s alliance with Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party to joining the Left Group in the European Parliament last summer, shifting from Eurosceptic right-wing populism to the European Left.
Rejected Resolution. On Monday, M5S tabled a resolution—defeated by the Chamber—calling for an immediate halt to arms supplies to Ukraine and for “intensified European efforts to secure gas transit and supply, without ruling out future cooperation with Russia” to stabilise energy prices and bolster EU resilience.
- The Democratic Party also opposed both demands.
- The main Italian opposition party did not officially attend Saturday’s Rome demonstration against rearmament, organised by M5S and Greens & Left Alliance.
- A handful of MPs from the Democratic Party joined in a personal capacity.
- “It is foolish to contribute to military escalation while cutting welfare funds,” Conte said at the event.
Public opinion matters. Conte is seeking to rally domestic support by tapping into Italians’ unease over rising military spending.
- According to a recent polling by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), public support for increased defence budgets is strong across Europe—with one major exception: Italy.
- The country stands out as the only large EU member where a majority of citizens oppose the trend towards rearmament.
Dialogues and divides. This occurs at a time when Meloni’s government has initiated talks with the Democratic Party, led by Elly Schlein.
- The two spoke Sunday following US strikes on Iran—signalling mutual recognition, with Schlein expressing a willingness to be part of the national response.
- Yet Matteo Salvini’s League quietly chafes at the rearmament push.
- It highlights Italy’s enduring split: on one side, parties critical of the EU and NATO and often seen as more sympathetic to Russian and Chinese positions (M5S and the League), and on the other, the Atlanticist–Europeanist centre-right bloc (from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy to the Democratic Party).
