The massacre at the Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019 in New Zealand brought home very difficult memories of terrorism and violent extremism in Europe, both far-right and jihadist in nature. It’s been only 18 months since a far-right supporter shot and killed a Senegalese man in my former hometown of Florence, Italy. The victim, Idy Diene, was killed just because he was black.
It happened on March 5th, 2018. A year later, on March 20th, 2019, an Italian citizen of Senegalese origin hijacked a school bus in Milan, threatening to kill the 50 children on board. His apparent aim was to ‘vindicate’ the people who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of protection or simply a better life. The two children who alerted the carabinieri who managed to stop the bus and arrest the driver, were themselves of immigrant parents. Many called in favour of their naturalisation by merit but the then Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini refused.
Europe has grown increasingly polarised in recent years. This polarisation is both socio-economic and political-ideological. The 2008 financial crisis and a decade of austerity have increased economic insecurity, precarious work, welfare gaps and most notably, anger among both working and lower middle class people across Europe. This has combined with a growing mistrust towards political elites and discontent with parties that have dominated the post-1989 political landscape.
