Migration is increasingly characterised by doubt and uncertainty. Italy, like the rest of Europe and the Western world, views migrants with a mixture of apprehension and fear, and, at the same time, solidarity and a desire to help. However, for a growing section of the population, the former sentiments tend to prevail over the latter. Consequently, the barometer of public perception is shifting towards negative territory. Hostile sentiments are not yet predominant, but they are undoubtedly on the rise. These sentiments are fuelled by the sensationalisation of news stories by the media, which often distort reality and help to construct a collective imagination detached from the objectivity of the facts. Politicians, for their part, are quick to capitalise on the discontent felt by sections of the population, exaggerating and fuelling the controversy: under the illusion that they can solve problems simplistically by building walls or calling for deportations. It is difficult to tackle the issue of migration pragmatically, without being swayed by the pursuit of immediate popular approval or by moralistic attitudes. Finally, one need only look at the debate surrounding the law on the integration of the children of migrants in Italy (known as the ‘ius soli’ law) to gauge the difficulties facing the Italian ruling class: the decision is being postponed due to fears over public support ahead of the next elections. In short, it is failing to fulfil the role for which it was elected: that of taking responsibility. The result is that the issue is discussed in a heated, polarised manner, rarely in a calm tone and without being held captive by stereotypes. Let us be clear: the phenomenon is complex and encompasses both issues relating to coexistence and the cultural resources and skills that underpin our economy and our families. But the longer solutions are put off, the bigger the problem becomes. The impression is that, more often than not, reality is overshadowed by fantasy and hearsay.
La Stampa, 30 October 2017
Il Secolo XIX, 30 October 2017
To the extent that it is social representations that determine reality, and not the other way round. The extent to which Italians’ perceptions of immigrants have changed, and what their views are on the proposed law on the integration of migrants’ children, is the subject of the latest survey by Community Media Research. Let us start with a fact based on objective knowledge. Do Italians know how many migrants are legally resident in Italy? Only a third (37.4 per cent) answer the question correctly: as reported by Istat, the figure is 5,026,153. Just over half (56.7 per cent) underestimate the figure (to as low as 3 million), whilst the remaining 5.9 per cent imagine there are over 10 million. And what is the most common religion among migrants? Here too, only just over a third (38.4 per cent) correctly identify it as Christianity (according to Istat, 56.4 per cent belong to this religion, 2015), whilst the majority of the population believes they are mainly Muslim (56.8 per cent). In the latter case, in particular, it is clear that perception obscures reality. If we add the two answers together, we find that those with ‘accurate knowledge’ (those who answer both questions correctly) account for just 13.7 per cent of Italians. Some 48.5 per cent have ‘partial knowledge’ (getting one of the two answers wrong), whilst as many as 37.8 per cent are ‘uninformed’ (getting both answers wrong). Therefore, few people know correctly how many migrants there are in Italy and what religions they practise. This level of limited knowledge cannot fail to influence opinions and attitudes. But let us take things in order. There is no doubt that between 2013 and the present day, Italians’ perceptions of immigrants have shifted towards a negative sentiment. If we set aside the view that criminals are not distinguished by their nationality (both Italians and foreigners are seen as a threat: 84.3 per cent), there has been a decline in the view that immigrants contribute to our cultural openness (58.8 per cent, down from 72.7 per cent) and that they are an asset to our economy (57.2 per cent, down from 72.5 per cent). Conversely, there has been a rise in the perception that they are a threat to personal safety (31.4 per cent, up from 19.6 per cent), a danger to our traditions (30.2 per cent, up from 20.1 per cent), a threat to employment (30.0%, up from 21.2%). Taking these opinions together, we find that the ‘welcoming’ group (i.e. those who give only positive responses) make up the majority of Italians (53.7 per cent), although this figure has fallen significantly compared with 2013 (66.1 per cent). Rather than a decrease in the ‘ambivalent’ group (29.6 per cent, down from 28.8 per cent) – whose responses emphasise both positive and negative aspects of migrants – there has been an increase in the proportion of ‘opposed’ respondents (16.7 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent), who attribute only negative qualities to foreigners. Younger generations, students and those with a university degree show greater openness, whilst older people, those with a low level of education and those on the margins of the labour market (the unemployed, housewives) have more negative attitudes. However, it is important to emphasise that a tendency towards openness or closed-mindedness is directly linked to the level of knowledge one has of the phenomenon. The more one knows about it, the more welcoming one’s attitude towards immigrants becomes. However, does the shift (for the worse) in sentiment towards foreigners alter people’s stance on a proposed law? It may seem paradoxical, but the answer is no. Between ‘ius soli’ (30.9 per cent, up from 29.3 per cent) and ‘ius sanguinis’ (21.6 per cent, up from 20.4 per cent), the prevailing view remains that citizenship should be earned through the migrant’s own proactive efforts, subject to a process of acquisition and adherence to Italian values and culture (47.5 per cent, up from 45.0 per cent). Only 5.4 per cent would not grant citizenship to anyone. Thus, the vast majority of Italians favour legislation that promotes integration, to the extent that even 72.8 per cent of those who are ‘opposed’ to migrants believe it is right to grant citizenship to immigrants, as do 97.6 per cent of those who are ‘ambivalent’ and 99.8 per cent of those who are ‘welcoming’.
There is a growing feeling of hostility towards migrants. The lack of knowledge of the phenomenon, combined with exaggerated representations by the media and politicians, feed an imagination that overpowers the reality of the facts, favouring a perverse and dangerous circuit that populist instances drink from. At the same time, however, there remains the question of regulating the integration of immigrants to which only politics can provide an answer. If it were willing to assume, rather than immediate electoral consensus, the criterion of the common good.
Daniele Marini
Methodological note
Community Media Research carried out the LaST (Laboratory on Society and the Territory) Survey, which took place nationwide from 9 to 16 October 2017 amongst a representative sample of the resident population in Italy aged over 18. The methodological aspects and data collection were managed by Questlab. The total number of respondents was 1,561 (out of 13,413 contacts). The data analysis was reweighted according to gender, region, age group, employment status and educational qualification. The margin of error is +/-2.5%. The survey was conducted via a visual survey on the main social media platforms and using a random sample reached via CAWI and CATI systems. The full report is available at www.agcom.it and www.communitymediaresearch.it
