Italy's Anti-far Right 'Sardines' Rally Ahead Of Regional Polls

Bologna, Italy, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2020 ) :Thousands of people rallied Sunday in the northern city of Bologna, a leftist bastion targeted by the far right in elections this month whose fall could bring down the government in Rome.

They responded to the call of the "Sardines", a movement launched in November to fight anti-immigrant politician Matteo Salvini, a leading figure in Italy's previous coalition government.

According to the organisers, around 40,000 turned up for Sunday's event, a mix of music and speeches that was finishing Sunday evening with a rock and rap concert.

In the afternoon, crowds packed into Bologna's Piazza Otto Agosto carrying blue balloons and multicoloured version of the movement's now-familiar sardine symbol.

"We are here to say that an alternative exists," one of the movement's co-founders, 32-year-old Mattia Santori, told journalists. Their hope was that their activities would translate into votes in the upcoming elections, he added.

Spokesman Lorenzo Donnoli told AFPTV: "I hope and believe that Salvini will lose and that will finally be a defeat that bring back serious politics."Salvini is campaigning hard for a far-right victory in the January 26 elections in Emilia-Romagna. That could lead to the collapse of the government formed by the leftist Democrat Party and the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement.

And that in turn could lead to national legislative elections, which Salvini fervently wants.