Meloni’s test: Italy’s street violence and Europe’s crisis of power - opinion

“Hooligans exploiting protests to sow chaos, attack those responsible for security, and hold entire cities hostage.” This was how Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the wave of violence unfolding across Italy's streets. “The right to protest is legitimate; turning our cities into ruins is not,” she wrote on X/Twitter.What began as localized unrest in Milan is rapidly escalating into a national crisis, spreading to Rome, Turin, Bologna, Naples and Florence. Italy now stands at the center of a geopolitical snowball rolling across Europe.In Rome, the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) trade union confederation's call for a general strike on November 20 – just days before expected elections on December 4 – adds an explosive political catalyst to an already volatile atmosphere.The Middle East war as a force multiplierIn Milan, Italy's economic engine, damages are already estimated in the millions of euros following looted shops, torched infrastructure, and severe blows to the city's image as a global capital of fashion and tourism.Simultaneously, street violence, labor strikes, and truck-driver blockades in the south are choking supply chains, halting factories, and fueling inflation.The war in the Middle East acts as both a catalyst and a force multiplier. Economically, surging fuel and energy prices deepen public hardship.