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A piercing sound of blaring horns and dockworkers chanting “we don’t want you” welcomed an Israel-linked cargo vessel when it docked in Livorno this week.

For 48 hours, the protesting port laborers stood their ground, refusing to handle the vessel’s freight in a display of defiant solidarity for Palestinians and the Global Sumud flotilla striving to deliver aid to the besieged territory. The protest was successful and the vessel, bound for the United States and Canada, left the port.

Countrywide Port Actions Expand

From northern ports in the north, to Salerno and Taranto in the south, in the past few weeks port workers throughout the country have succeeded in blocking ships believed to be carrying arms for Israel, as resistance to the country’s war in Gaza intensifies.

The dockers’ determination to prevent arms shipments and disrupt commerce has been a crucial component of the pro-Palestinian uprising in the nation as pressure mounts on Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to take a stronger stance against Israel.

“The Israeli military is conducting an extermination of people in Gaza – by killing them, by starving them,” said a dockworker, Luca Simoni. “We must not stay silent. We have historically been a harbor of refuge, not one of war. We will continue protesting until this war concludes.”

National Walkout Increases Pressure

On the end of the week, thousands demonstrated after Cgil called the latest nationwide walkout in less than two weeks, shutting educational institutions, disrupting transport and causing disruption on public transport and in medical services. There were also spontaneous protests on Wednesday night after military vessels stopped the aid convoy and detained hundreds of activists, including the prominent campaigner Greta Thunberg.

The event in Livorno was the initial instance an Israeli ship carrying commercial goods had been blocked.

Public Opinion and Government Response

Recent surveys show significant support among the public – including a substantial share of voters of the governing alliance – for the establishment of a Palestinian state and in favor of the flotilla aid mission.

Meloni has criticised the deaths caused by Israel of Palestinian people in the past few months, casting it as a “excessive” response to the militant group’s assault, and has expressed willingness to the country recognizing a sovereign Palestine, though with conditions. But she still attempts to walk a fine line between being one of Israel’s staunchest allies in the EU and a ally of Arab nations, all the while aligning with the policies of the US president, the former president.

Still, she is aware of voter sentiment, especially with the country in the throes of multiple local votes, and has attempted to exploit the protests and flotilla to attack her leftwing opponents.

The Prime Minister has described the flotilla as “risky and reckless” and, despite the humanitarian mission involving many participants from various nations, she said it was only aimed at “causing difficulties” for her government. She criticized the national walkout, claiming Italians of undertaking “a long weekend masquerading as a political uprising” while stating the event was organized for political reasons and provided little help to the people of Gaza.

“The current administration can only remain in power with someone to blame,” claimed Gianfranco Francese, who heads the local branch of Cgil. “There is also a great contradiction between what the Prime Minister says and what she implements,” he added. “She speaks of being a devoted nationalist, a Christian and a mother, but she has not undertaken any official steps to stop the massacre of women and children.”

Government Standing Despite Protests

But despite the widespread popular feeling shown through the series of solidarity demonstrations, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party continues to lead in polls, at around 30%, and she has led an unusually steady Italian government since taking office in October 2022.

“On one hand, there is the larger part of the population in solidarity with Gaza which wants an end to the conflict,” said a political analyst, a founder of a polling firm. “But you won’t observe the effects of this when it time to cast ballots.”

The analyst mentioned recent regional votes in the central area where the governing alliance secured a another term. The same outcome is anticipated in votes in other regions.

He said there was “a real risk of the [Gaza] movement having an overly strong of a leftwing identity, which would distance individuals who are appalled with the war but who are not active supporters”.

Analyst Perspectives

A political scientist at New York’s Columbia University and the University of Bologna, said the explanation why the effects of the demonstrations were not being reflected in elections was because barely half of Italian voters go to the polls.

“And those who do, vote for the right,” she said, explaining that the Prime Minister could easily use the protests to disarm rivals.

She said every spontaneous movement of citizens was susceptible to being penetrated by opposing groups, and suggested that this had been occurring in order to “discredit and suppress” the solidarity campaign.

Medical Professionals Participate

A cardiologist in the capital, has joined several pro-Palestine protests in the Italian capital and marched in the rally near Piazza Vittorio on Friday.

“Last night, there was an initiative held in medical facilities during which we remembered the many healthcare workers who died in Gaza while trying to help people,” she said. “It was a deeply emotional occasion and we will continue to mobilise. You might not see it in election surveys yet, but I believe this government is starting to be very afraid of us.”