After riots in Italy: gauntlet to the suburban youth

With a new "security decree", Italy's government under Giorgia Meloni is responding to the violent riots last Saturday and Sunday in Milan, when hundreds of young people from the suburbs fought street battles with the police for hours, leaving a trail of destruction through the city and looting dozens of shops.

It is now the eighth security decree from the right-wing government in Italy, which has been in office for four years. And it bears the same signature as all of its predecessors. Meloni's aim is to show energy and toughness in the media, with new criminal offenses and stricter punishments, with security custody for minors too, with 500 additional soldiers on Milan's streets.

The new criminal offense of “organized violence at public events,” for example, suggests that anyone who throws stones and firecrackers at security forces or breaks shop windows with steel pipes has previously gone unpunished. But even with the current criminal law, such offenses can result in severe penalties. And even 500 additional soldiers wouldn't have changed anything about the unrest - they simply aren't used in demonstrations and street battles.

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This reaction is somewhat pointless, but by no means without consequences. Once again the government is throwing down the gauntlet to suburban youth. Many of the kids from the disadvantaged suburbs come from migrant families. It fits wonderfully into the right-wing script to get the “good citizens” against them again. The head of government believes it is unnecessary to waste even a thought on the lack of prospects among young people. The fact that Meloni instead declares it to be a security risk as a pure propaganda exercise will not contribute to the pacification of the Italian metropolises.