Europhile to EUROSCEPTIC:  How Italy falling out of love with Brussels ‘started in 1990s’

Mr Lazar’s comments came just days after a surge in support for Italy’s two main anti-Europe parties – the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and the right-wing Lega.

He told the French daily Le Monde: “, which has always been one of the most europhile countries, has become euromorose and eurosceptic. 

“This change in sentiment started in the 1990s, after the Maastricht criteria imposed by the bloc forced the government to implement a tougher fiscal policy. Then there was the 2007-2008 global financial crisis which led to four years of recession and finally, the migrant crisis, which started in 2013.”

The ongoing migration crisis, Mr Lazar warned, is what has stoked anti- sentiment the most.

The expert said: “Migrants have been arriving on Italy’s shores en masse, and Italians feel abandoned by their neighbours, namely France. They feel abandoned by the European Union.”

The leaders of the M5S and the Lega – Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvani – are riding a wave of voter anger over mass immigration, but also over rising inequalities and unemployment, he explained.

Mr Lazar said: “Lega changed its political DNA and transformed itself into a far-right, anti-Europe and anti-immigrant party modelled on France’s [nationalist] Front Nationa,

“The unemployment rate has fallen but remains high. And economic revival has been eclipsed by the high unemployment and poverty rates and rising inequalities, especially in the south.”

Italians voted for the anti-establishment Five Star Movement – the country’s biggest single party – in protest against the ruling elite, according to Mr Lazar.

He said: “It’s a protest vote against the outgoing government, against the right, against the country’s economic and social situation and against Europe. 

“The Five Star Movement is an outsider party which actually has something to offer.”  

Sunday’s vote also marked the end of Silvio Berlusconi’s political career, Mr Lazar said, after the former prime minister’s centre-right Forza Italia party failed to win a majority of seats.

He said: “Berlusconi is out. He lost and is no longer the most powerful person in his camp. 

“He’s no stranger to defeat but winning just 14 per cent [of the vote] is a colossal failure. I just don’t see how he can bounce back.”