Meloni’s coalition wields citizenship weapon

BUONASERA! This is Hannah Roberts writing in from Rome.

SCHOOL’S OUT: Bomb threats today disrupted hundreds of schools in Italy, Ireland and the U.K., leading to mass evacuations according to media reports.  

More than 300 schools were evacuated in Italy, where Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara later clarified the threats were fake. “It is most likely a cyberattack,” he said. PM Giorgia Meloni has called a meeting of top ministers and intelligence chiefs. Similar hoax threats were also sent to hundreds of schools in Ireland and across the U.K.

**A message from EHHA: In Amsterdam, artist and photographer Simone welcomed Andres while he found his feet in a new city. He later found a home next door. Short-term stays can be the beginning of lasting local connections. Meet Simone and Andres in More than a stay.**

CIVIS ROMANUS SUM? The government in Rome is cracking down on second-generation Italians. A bill now before the lower house could deny citizenship to teenage children of immigrants born and raised in the country for minor offenses, with MPs scheduled to resume debate this evening. 

Blame game: The push follows last month’s riots and looting in northern cities, which the ruling right blamed on young people of immigrant origin. It is “completely absurd” teenagers who helped devastate Milan could seek citizenship a year or two later, right-wing populist party Lega’s Igor Iezzi, the bill’s author, told Brussels Playbook Capitals. “These kids have demonstrated they are not integrated, that they don’t care about the community in which they live.” 

Election pitch: Ahead of elections next year, PM Giorgia Meloni’s coalition wants to look tough on immigration and law and order. Meanwhile, Deputy PM Matteo Salvini’s Lega has to fend off former General Roberto Vannacci’s encroaching far-right outfit. 

Moving the goalposts: Though the bill predates the recent unrest, Iezzi believes the clashes strengthen the case for it, as amendments would add offenses like resisting or insulting police as grounds for blocking citizenship. While a court finding of rehabilitation could later lift the bar, the legislation would also expand the crimes triggering citizenship revocation. 

Still waiting: Being born in Italy doesn’t make you Italian on paper. Those who are born and reside in the country throughout childhood can claim citizenship at 18. But critics fear tightening the rules will deepen their exclusion, and that inequality and exclusion from citizenship helped fuel the unrest in the first place.  

Whose country is it? “We are talking about people who have always lived here, who may not even know their parents’ country of origin, who find their access to citizenship jeopardized on the basis of even a minor offense, such as attending a protest,” Maria Cristina Romano from the immigration law association ASGI, told Playbook. 

Scapegoating: Blaming immigrants is easier than fixing low wages, rising rents and poor prospects, which would require money and harder choices, she said. 

MARCHING ORDERS: Poland’s nationalists are taking to Warsaw’s streets this afternoon, hoping to turn Independence Day into a rallying cry against pro-EU PM Donald Tusk ahead of next year’s election. 

The battle cry: Opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński — whose right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS) party ruled Poland until 2023 — on Wednesday morning accused Tusk’s government of “demolishing the state” and called for a year of political mobilization. “We’re entering a fight,” he declared. 

Strength in numbers, trouble in unity: Recent polls suggest Poland’s rival right-wing parties could muster a parliamentary majority between them — but Kaczyński no longer has the field to himself. PiS’s days as “hegemon of the right” are over, said far-right Confederation leader Sławomir Mentzen. But last month’s showdown over Poland’s top court has helped unite the right’s various factions against Tusk.

Pole to Pole: As the right tries to close ranks, the PM today extended a surprise invitation to one of its most influential figures: President Karol Nawrocki. “My apartment is small, but there’s room for the two of us at the kitchen table,” he said, urging the president to talk with him, “one Pole to another.” 

The catch: Nawrocki has appeal across the political right that Kaczyński cannot count on. And getting the president to sit down for talks could help Tusk drive a wedge into the opposition’s newfound solidarity — foiling Kaczyński’s attempts to turn it into an election-winning alliance.

But the feud is not over: After Nawrocki used his Independence Day speech to blame the government for the court turmoil, Tusk fired back on X. “He could have tried, at least on this one day, to unite Poles rather than divide them. What a shame.”

UNUSUAL STRIKE: Spain is holding its first general strike in 14 years today over the housing and cost of living crises, and to defend gains made under the Socialist government. Unusually for a strike, the government is backing it as well. While the unions said they consider today’s action a success, the business federation described turnout as “low.” 

AGAINST TIKTOK: Spanish Youth Minister Sira Rego asked the country’s data protection agency to “suspend” TikTok’s operations in the country after a report from civil society group Maldita.es found the platform isn’t doing enough to combat child sexual abuse material. The ministry also asked the platform to voluntarily suspend its service. The move comes on the eve of an election campaign where TikTok is expected to play a key role in voter outreach. 

THROUGH THE ROOF: The most recent quarterly data shows buying a home in Spain could cost double what it did in 2015 — yet another point to fuel public fury over the state of housing in the country. Adding the fact that the average Spaniard doesn’t leave home until after they are 30 and tourist accommodation makes up 45% of the rental market in some historic centers, it is clear why housing is one of the central issues driving today’s general strike.  Lucia has all the details on just how bad Spain’s housing crisis is here. 

PUTIN’S APPROVAL: U.S. officials will head to Moscow tomorrow to ask for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “blessing” for European representatives to join future Ukraine peace talks. “We need to have the Europeans at the table,” U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner told POLITICO today. He also announced Russia and Ukraine agreed on what is likely “the biggest” exchange of prisoners since the war began. 

MUTUAL MISSILES: Addressing Danish lawmakers in Copenhagen today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s calls for “security guarantees” were a ploy to be granted the “ability to interfere in other countries.” Zelenskyy called for greater cooperation on military programs like Freya — an initiative to develop a European anti-ballistic missile defense system — which could serve as a model for continent-wide collaboration and protection. 

CONSUMER OVERHAUL: The European Commission put forward its anticipated revamp of EU consumer rules today, with new obligations to regulate deceptive design, influencers and video games, as well as new enforcement powers for Brussels. It’s the “most significant update of EU consumer protection law for over 20 years,” Commissioner Michael McGrath told reporters. 

MILITARY MISCONDUCT: Most cases of sexual misconduct in Germany’s armed forces go unreported, according to a major study presented Wednesday, which found some 40% of female soldiers and 20% of male soldiers had experienced at least one form of sexual misconduct in the past year. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged a “systemic problem” in how the military handles complaints. 

WALKOUT: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan left the reception area at COP31 in Antalya today, just as Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides arrived at the summit. Christodoulides traveled to Turkey after Cyprus was able to secure an official invitation with the EU’s help. 

SPOOK ARRESTS: Russia’s Federal Security Service said today it had arrested two individuals suspected of spying for Poland in Kaliningrad. Criminal cases for espionage have been opened against the suspects who remain in custody. Polish authorities called the FSB’s actions “yet another provocation and act of disinformation.” 

FLEXIBLE GATHERING: As NATO diplomats say a summit in Albania next year remains unlikely, the country is pitching a flexible meeting, whether that be a delayed or even virtual summit, Defense Minister Ermal Nufi told POLITICO. Alliance leaders have been reluctant to commit due to Albania’s low defense spending and increasingly strained relationship with Trump. 

EXPECT: Tram lines 92 and 93 are back up and running after this morning’s suspensions. Vivaqua works on Rue de la Forêt d’Houthulst will affect tram line 51 starting tomorrow. 

As it is Armistice Day, today’s recommendations are all about World War I. 

READ THIS: The personal exchanges between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II leading up to the war in “The Willy-Nicky Telegrams.” 

WATCH THIS: Head to your preferred streamer for Peter Jackson’s documentary “They Shall Not Grow Old,” with restored and colorized archival footage from the Western Front.

LEFT IN THE LURCH? HEAD TO THIS: For those in need of fresh sounds, Brussels’ Fifty Lab Music Festival starts today. More info here.

IMO: Tapas. It’s the go-to offering for foodies around the world but conceals a terrible secret — most Spanish food is actually pretty awful. A lot of Spanish fare is just deep-fried meat and potatoes, drizzled in a lot of (very nice) olive oil. There are good eateries, but they are not common. — Jan Cienski, senior policy editor

TALK TO PLAYBOOK: Disagree? Email us at [email protected] to share your Brussels takes. 

WATER AND FIRE: In ancient Athens, citizens convicted of military cowardice, corruption, perjury and other offenses could be subjected to ἀτιμία — or atimia — the withdrawal of civic rights and privileges. Athenians stripped of citizenship could be barred from voting, holding public office, serving as jurors or bringing legal proceedings and, in some cases, even entering the Agora, the city’s central marketplace. Romans convicted of serious offenses were subject to the harsher interdictio aquae et ignis —the prohibition of water and fire — a form of banishment that could entail the loss of citizenship as well as property. 

 Playbook is brought to you by POLITICO’s Capitals team: Leyla Aksu, Nacho Alarcón, James Angelos, Joshua Berlinger, Bartosz Brzeziński, Clea Caulcutt, Stephan Faris, Victor Goury-Laffont, Aitor Hernández-Morales, Lucia Mackenzie, Giorgio Leali, Veronika Melkozerova, Nette Nöstlinger, Christian Oliver, Sonja Rijnen, Hannah Roberts, Tim Ross, Marion Solletty, Nektaria Stamouli, Katie Westwood, and producer Jo Shaw. 

**A message from EHHA: Every stay has a local story. A family finds somewhere to stay near their child’s rehabilitation centre. A gardener builds a business around the short-term rentals he looks after. A guest finds their feet in a new city while looking for a permanent home. A visitor discovers local products through someone who knows the neighbourhood. A retired host’s spare room helps her stay in her own home. These stories from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland reveal the work, livelihoods and local connections behind Europe’s short-term rentals (STRs). In 2023, STR activity supported an estimated €149 billion in EU GDP and 2.1 million jobs, supporting many low-income households. Decisions regarding STRs should be grounded in solid local data and a clear understanding of what those rules would mean for housing, livelihoods and communities. Meet the people behind More than a stay.**

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