The Italy center-left municipal government in Turin finds itself under fire from its traditional support base, as autonomous activists accuse Mayor Stefano Lo Russo of abandoning progressive principles in favor of a security-first approach that mirrors right-wing policy. In a statement released in June 2026, six months after the controversial December 2025 eviction of Askatasuna, one of Italy's most established social centers, activists outline deepening fractures within the Italian left over how to balance public order with social justice.
Social centers like Askatasuna are a distinctive feature of Italian urban politics—occupied spaces that function as community hubs for cultural events, political organizing, and social services in neighborhoods often underserved by municipal infrastructure. Many have operated in legal gray zones for decades, becoming integral to grassroots organizing and neighborhood life.
Why This Matters
• Municipal politics shifting right: Italy's Democratic Party (PD) mayors are adopting security policies once reserved for conservative governments, including increased police presence and surveillance—a pattern emerging in multiple major cities.
• Multi-decade experiment ends: The December 18, 2025 eviction of Askatasuna closed a nearly 30-year chapter of autonomous social organizing in Turin, with no clear replacement for community services it provided.
• Protest cycle intensifies: Over 50,000 demonstrators mobilized nationally by January 31, 2026, resulting in clashes, arrests, and a burned police vehicle—prompting national government intervention.
• Property remains contested: The Corso Regina Margherita 47 building sits bricked-up and policed, while the Turin City Council debates whether any "social function" can bridge neighborhood divisions.
The Eviction That Broke the Pact
The autonomous collective operating Askatasuna had secured a fragile compromise in January 2024 through a collaboration agreement with the Turin Municipal Administration. Under the terms, activists could use the ground floor in exchange for respecting safety regulations that declared upper floors structurally unsafe and off-limits for habitation.
That arrangement unraveled when police executed a dawn raid on December 18, 2025, discovering six individuals sleeping on the third floor—a direct violation of the negotiated terms. Mayor Lo Russo immediately declared the pact void and authorized the eviction, citing non-compliance with safety conditions as grounds for terminating the regularization process.
The operation coincided with ongoing investigations into vandalism at La Stampa newspaper offices in late November 2025 and at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR) cultural complex in October. Authorities connected these incidents to activists with alleged links to the social center, though Askatasuna denied organizational responsibility.
By January 2026, the Turin City Cabinet formally removed the property from its registry of "common goods" (beni comuni)—a municipal designation allowing community-managed public spaces. The building now sits shuttered with utilities disconnected and permanent police guard preventing reoccupation.
A New Regional Law Blocked Full Legalization
In March 2024, the Piedmont Regional Council passed legislation—labeled "anti-Askatasuna" by critics—that prohibited common-good designation for any building illegally occupied within the preceding five years. The law effectively restricted the Turin agreement to the outdoor garden space alone, leaving the main structure in legal limbo.
A 2024 structural assessment classified upper floors as uninhabitable, with full renovation estimated at several million euros. The Prefecture of Turin has authorized nearby schools to use the courtyard for children's activities—currently the only element of the original space serving a public function.
Protests and National Attention
The eviction sparked immediate confrontation. December 18 clashes resulted in water cannon deployment and 11 injuries from projectiles and physical confrontations. The largest mobilization came January 31, 2026, when between 20,000 and 50,000 people converged on Turin for a national demonstration. Evening confrontations near Viale Regina Margherita turned violent, with protesters launching fireworks and flares at police lines, igniting a police vehicle and multiple dumpsters. Officers responded with tear gas and water jets. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited injured officers on February 1, demanding swift judicial action.
What This Means for Residents and Municipal Governance
For those living near the former social center, the immediate consequence is permanent police presence that has altered neighborhood character. Residents navigate checkpoints and heightened surveillance—a trade-off the municipal government justifies as preventing reoccupation but that critics view as disproportionate policing.
The broader shift affects how Italy's center-left municipalities address urban challenges. Turin's approach—emphasizing "more officers, more cameras"—now mirrors strategies traditionally associated with conservative administrations. This convergence narrows the policy spectrum available to voters seeking alternatives on public safety.
Similar crackdowns are emerging in other PD-led cities, signaling a systematic shift in how Italy's center-left positions itself ahead of future elections. For activists and social organizations across Italy, the precedent creates risk: the Piedmont anti-occupation law and Turin's willingness to cancel collaboration agreements establish a template for institutions. Associations considering partnerships elsewhere now face evidence that even negotiated compromises can collapse under political or legal pressure.
For anyone engaged in grassroots organizing in Italy, this eviction signals that semi-legal status—even with formal agreements—offers minimal protection once political winds shift.
Accusations of Rightward Drift
In their June 2026 statement, Askatasuna and the Turin Antagonist Network accused Mayor Lo Russo of succumbing to the "security mantra" championed by right-wing parties. They contend that significant portions of the Democratic Party have embraced right-leaning security postures as electorally advantageous, abandoning structural analysis of poverty, housing crisis, and peripheral neighborhood decline.
The activists specifically criticized Lo Russo's practice of immediately expressing "unconditional solidarity" with law enforcement following public disorder, citing his response to clashes during the Turin-Juventus derby.
"They never speak of the structural causes—for which the left bears ample responsibility—that drive the crisis in our peripheries," the statement reads. "Priority is never given to support that the municipality, even with limited resources, could provide to these territories."
Lo Russo has defended his stance repeatedly, asserting that "security is a patrimony of the left and the PD" and must be addressed with seriousness rather than ideological posturing. He has criticized national security decrees proposed by the Meloni government, arguing they would not improve safety in Turin while noting chronic shortages in police and carabinieri staffing that undermine territorial coverage.
The mayor emphasizes that effective security policy must integrate welfare, healthcare, and visible law enforcement presence—a holistic framework he distinguishes from campaigns exploiting fear for electoral gain.
An Old Motto for New Politics
Askatasuna's critique invoked the Latin phrase "errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum"—to err is human, to persist in error is diabolical—suggesting Lo Russo's continued embrace of security-focused governance represents moral failure rather than pragmatic governance.
The rhetorical choice reflects frustration within Italy's autonomous movements, which see institutions absorbing right-wing narratives on crime and disorder without corresponding investment in social infrastructure. The closure of Askatasuna removes a site that, despite its controversial legal status, provided meeting space, cultural programming, and organizing capacity for communities lacking municipal alternatives.
Whether the Turin Municipal Administration can devise a replacement model satisfying both legal requirements and neighborhood needs remains uncertain. Proposals under consideration involve managed access by approved associations, but none have advanced beyond preliminary discussion.
For now, the boarded-up facade and police cordon stand as physical markers of Italy's unresolved debate over how democratic governments accommodate dissent, manage contested public space, and define the boundaries between security and repression. The answer emerging from Turin suggests those boundaries are narrowing, with consequences for grassroots organizing and municipal governance patterns across Italy.
