Spotlight: Analysts warn of inflammatory rhetoric following Italy migrant attack

ROME, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Analysts in Italy warned against fear-mongering and inflammatory tones in the ongoing electoral campaign, after the country was shaken by an unprecedented racist attack on migrants.

Six African citizens were randomly shot and injured in Macerata, central Italy, on Feb. 3. The culprit was a 28-year-old Italian man, Luca Traini, who was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and admitted to carrying out the shooting.

Before being detained, he drove to a war memorial, wrapped himself in the Italian flag and gave a Fascist salute.

According to police, the man showed no remorse, but explained his attack as a "revenge" for the recent case of death of an 18-year-old Italian girl in Macerata -- in which a Nigerian failed asylum-seeker was arrested, but not charged with murder.

Yet, the attack prompted intense soul-searching in the country on the real scale of far-right sentiments and the spread of racism, as well as on the increase of hate speech on social media.

Many analysts specifically pointed at the harsh language of the campaign for the upcoming elections on March 4, and the role of immigration by some political forces.

In an editorial titled "The risks of words, and the power of facts", leading business daily Il Sole 24 Ore appealed to public figures to "go easy with words".

"The awful events in Macerata result from words that have been badly spoken before (the event), and continue to exert their harmful effects in the aftermath," Paolo Pombeni, professor of modern history with Bologna University, wrote.

Pombeni called on politicians to be more responsible because Italy was still "in the presence of social pathologies that have never been defeated once and for all."

Indeed, center-right and far-right parties have long depicted immigration as the top emergency for the country, and increased their tones as soon as the campaign kicked off.

The leader of rightwing, anti-immigrant Northern League, Matteo Salvini, condemned the shooting in Macerata, but added that violence was "the straight result of mass immigration in recent years".

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is the Northern League's senior ally in the center-right coalition, pledged to expel up to 600,000 people, which was roughly the number of migrants and asylum-seekers reaching the country since 2014.

"The link between immigration and security is traditionally a center-right topic, and has been used by center-right forces since at least 2011," Edoardo Novelli, sociologist and professor of Political Communication at University of Rome III, told Xinhua.

"We have to remember that in every campaign words are used in a way that is particularly exploitative, and strategic for each party' electoral goals," Novelli said.

"Having said that, I agree the attack in Macerata can be linked to these inflammatory tones," he added.

Deceptive rhetoric works well with strong topics, which are able to stir passions but do not necessarily coincide with a country's real priorities such as employment or education, according to the sociologist.

The issue might change with time and country: it can be immigration, the risk of war, or the threat of a domestic enemy. But it would always be something able to "play" on the people's emotions, rather than on their rationality, he added.

In Italy's case, anti-immigrant slogans have been used for years, and, with the vote approaching, they went as far as becoming openly racist comments.

"This rhetoric can results in extremism, in people who have a certain ideology and way of thinking, as it seems to be the case with the responsible for the Macerata attack," Novelli said. "However, it impacts more largely on society, stirring sentiments of fear and boosting the perception of insecurity also in people with a moderate mindset."

Some Italian media were also to blame for the rise in hate speech and racism in public debate, the expert warned.

"When a newspaper has a headline 'Islamic bastards' (the day after Paris terrorist attack in Nov. 2015), or TV shows keep saying that Italians are threatened by an 'invasion'... this is how you create social alarm," Novelli explained.

Institutional figures have appealed for calm in the political debate. President Sergio Mattarella has urged Italians to "preserve the sense of community".

Would these appeals work? Novelli did not sound optimistic. "I would indeed wish the campaign to become more civilized ... but, honestly, I expect an escalation."

At least one-third of voters -- up to 40 percent according to some projections -- were uncertain on whether to vote and, in case, for whom.

In this situation, Novelli explained, parties would "fight until the very last vote is cast, and most likely by pandering to the public mood". Enditem