The Internationalism

Internationalism No. 88 - June 2026 Page 2 In almost four years in government, Italy’s renewed stability has been a key asset for Giorgia Meloni, also encouraging the European adaptation of the italian-style immigrants . However, the backlash from the referendum defeat, a real own goal, has opened a glaring rift that runs through both the end of the current legislature and the prospects for the next. There is debate over the political exhaustion of her government, forced to navigate the narrow path of budgetary statistics and under the threat of what the Financial Times has termed a “coming energy crisis” triggered by the blockade of the strait of Hormuz. At the referendum polls, the left-wing broad coalition “discovered” that it could compete with the centre-right, but no poll shows any substantial changes in the balance of power. The scenario of a “deadlock”, or a narrow majority for one...

Internationalism No. 87, May 2026 Page 2 In Washington, they haven't understood the conclave. They don't understand this new phase of Catholicism . According to Massimo Franco, this is the view inside the Vatican regarding Donald Trump's attack on the Pope [ Corriere della Sera , April 14]. The day before, Trump had targeted Robert Prevost, dedicating a lengthy post to him on his own social media platform, Truth Social . At the heart of his criticism was papal opposition to the third Gulf War. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon – he had written – I don't want a pope who criticises the president of the United States or who meets with Obama sympathisers . All accompanied by an AI-generated image in which Trump appeared in the guise of a healing Jesus. Americanism and US imperialist expansion The forms are those of show and s...

Internationalism No. 86, April 2026 Page 6 On February 28 th , the attack launched by the United States and Israel against Iran ignited the third Gulf War . Already dealing with the conflict in Ukraine on its eastern flank, Europe now finds itself facing a second war on its borders, this time to the south. Unlike in 1991 and 2003, in the current conflict Washington has made no effort to build a coalition. No European or NATO country, nor any regional power, has been formally involved in the plans for intervention. European exclusion and the Atlantic crisis Europe’s initial exclusion – despite now being called upon to bear the energy, economic, and political consequences of Washington’s new war of choice – is the latest chapter of the Atlantic crisis . The issue has been at the centre of the European press’s commentary. Particularly in the early days, Brussels’ delays and impotence...