An unprecendented political shift
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2019-08-11
Language
en
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Abstract
In September 2018, the newly elected populist government of Italy declared its intention to not
comply with the fiscal regulations in the EU 2019 draft budgetary plan. After a strong dispute with the
European Commission lasting from October to December 2018, the two bodies reached a
compromise. However, never before had an Italian government endeavoured to completely discard the
EU budgetary rules since the foundation of the EMU in 1999. On the contrary, previous Italian
governments always strived to ensure that Italy was adhering with the wide range of European rules in
spite of the restrictive economic measures implemented to cope with its troubled financial situation.
This change of course of the current Italian government about not to put forward any effort to comply
with the post-crisis fiscal rules of the EMU has attracted the attention of several scholars. However,
the primary focus has been on the threat that this can pose to the stability and future of the EU. In
contrast with this research focus, this thesis seeks to explain the underlying economic and political
reasons for this change of course of the current Italian government by utilising concepts of Regulation
theory extended by the neo-Gramscian international political economy. By analysing the Italian
regime of accumulation and the impact of the sovereign debt crisis and its related austerity measures
on the national politics and society, this thesis argues that these changes were pivotal for the
emergence of a populist government that sought to implement measures counter to EU fiscal policy.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen