God, Nation, Family: Where the Voter or Money Goes

What party do Italian Catholics vote for? And what issues are salient for them? This analysis explores the rising use of Catholic symbolism and markers by the League leader Matteo Salvini and the upsurge of support for Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, and seeks to examine whether there is any relationship between demand - Catholic voters - and supply - both parties. If that is not the case, does the financial support of the USA most conservative foundations help the success of the populist radical-right and conservative nationalism in Italy? While recent analyses address that about 32% of the League voters attended the Church weekly in 2014 (Maggini and Emanuele 2014), Catholicism is generally divided into a progressive electorate, voting for the Five Stars Movement and the Democratic Party, and traditionalism, and further research points to a less determinant Catholic vote for Salvini’s League (Schworer 2018). Interestingly, in the last two years, Brothers of Italy has viewed increased support by about 6%, with Meloni, often openly opposing Pope Bergoglio’s positions, as predicated by the American conservative foundations. The analysis, using Eurobarometer and ESS data, answers whether the radical-right Italian vote is determined by the citizens’ rosary or the party’s pocketbook.