The “hoi polloi” are much more concerned about dictatorial Eurocrats interfering with the results of a free and fair election. Italy’s immigration problems are not the size of those in France nor Germany.
What has them enormously irritated is that the Italian President, who is a EU true believer, is putting EU interests first, and denying the electoral winners the government of their choice.
I personally think has backfired, and the chance of an Italian exit from the EU is a lot more likely than it was a couple of weeks ago.
Clever populists sacrificed a pawn and got back into the game. They have the people behind them, so the pressure was on.
Anyone else ever notice that journalists put on their silly hat when they write about Italian politics? I know it’s convoluted and hard for us to understand, but it’s not THAT funny.