June 25, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Italy think the government should address immigration and petty crime in order to improve public safety, according to a poll by Ipsos Public Affairs. 25 per cent of respondents think these issues are more pressing than all others.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Italy think the government should address immigration and petty crime in order to improve public safety, according to a poll by Ipsos Public Affairs. 25 per cent of respondents think these issues are more pressing than all others.

Italian voters renewed the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in April 2006. The Union (Unione) of centre-left parties, led by Romano Prodi, secured 348 seats in the lower house and 158 seats in the upper house. The victory put an end to the government of the centre-right House of Freedom (Casa), headed by Silvio Berlusconi.

The views of Italians on this topic vary according to party allegiance. While 34 per cent of House of Freedom voters think the presence of immigrants is the most important issue, 28 per cent of Union voters select petty crime and petty theft.

A law passed in 1996 by the Italian Parliament allows for property belonging to convicted mafia bosses to be used for social purposes. This year, a charity organization called Il Gabbiano released its first bottles of white wine made with grapes cultivated in land that was confiscated from a mafia leader. Dario Campagna, chairman of Il Gabbiano, told reporters after launching the Campo Libero wine: "The fact that we could turn a land bought with illegal earnings into something totally clean is the most important message we could send."

Polling Data

In order to face the security problem in Italy, which of these issues do you think is most important to deal with?

	All	Union	House
The presence of immigrants	25%	16%	34%
Petty crime, petty theft	25%	28%	23%
Lack of solidarity	16%	20%	13%
Organized crime	16%	22%	12%
Drug trafficking	15%	12%	15%

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 Italian adults, conducted on Jun. 4, 2007. No margin of error was provided.