Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Rome against hate, nationalism and the right-wing Lega boss Matteo Salvini. The rally on the Piazza di San Giovanni in the Italian capital was the culmination of the so-called "sardine" movement, which had arisen only a month ago in Italy in protest against the right-wing Lega party.
The organizers subsequently stated that the number of participants was "more than 100,000". The Ansa news agency cited police circles as "around 35,000". The square is a traditional rallying place for the trade unions and the left.
"The idea was to fill the space and I would say the goal has been achieved," said Mattia Santori, one of the movement's founders. People gathered on the square who could still differentiate between politics and marketing. "We hope that the violence will disappear from the political language," he said. The "sardines" did not want to replace any other movement and do not force anyone out of the places, Santori said.
Many of the demonstrators carried pictures and figures of sardines. The "sardines" formed a flash mob in Bologna on November 14, when the right-wing Lega, Matteo Salvini, held an election rally there. The aim of the young organizers was to bring more people together than Salvini and to fill the city's largest square as tightly as sardines. This succeeded and the sardine became the symbol of the movement. It is based on the words of its authors against intolerance, nationalism and right-wing extremism. It doesn't want to be a party.
According to surveys, Salvini's Lega is by far the strongest party
There have been demonstrations in numerous other Italian cities in recent weeks. According to Santori, there were also "sardine" rallies in 25 other European cities on Saturday. Around 160 representatives of the "sardines" in Rome want to discuss the future strategy of the movement on Sunday.
Video: This is how the "sardine" movement came about
AP; THE MIRROR
Salvinis Lega is by far the strongest party in Italy with a good 30 percent. After the victory of the right in the regional election in Umbria in late October, the former interior minister also hopes for success in the Emilia-Romagna region in late January, a traditional stronghold of the left. The "sardines" rely on a change of mood. For Saturday, Salvini had scheduled a "No Tax Day" for tax increases with rallies in more than 20 cities. He himself performed in Milan and there called for early elections in Italy.