Italian Sardines square off against Salvini ahead of crucial vote

The "Sardines" grassroots movement protesting against the populism of far-right Italian leader Matteo Salvini staged a mass rally in the northern city of Bologna on Sunday (January 19) ahead of a regional vote that could shake up national politics.

Salvini's resurgent League party and his rightist allies are looking to end almost 75 years of unbroken leftist rule in the well-to-do Emilia Romagna region in next Sunday's election, with latest polls putting the two camps neck and neck.

Alarmed at the rise of the anti-immigrant, anti-Europe League, a group of four friends created the Sardines movement in November to challenge Salvini's often abrasive message. It has earned its name by packing squares throughout the region and beyond with supporters.

They returned to the birthplace of their group on Sunday, staging a concert that organizers said had drawn between 35,000 and 40,000 people, many waving cut-out sardines. The police did not immediately provide their own crowd estimate.

Emilia Romagna is one of Italy's wealthiest regions with an unemployment rate of around 5%, half the national average. But despite its economic success, Salvini has tapped into concerns about security, immigration and high taxes.

(Source: Reuters)

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