The first political consequence of the death of Pope Francis is for sure that the left side of Italy’s political spectrum has lost its most powerful and vocal political figure. Pope Francis was able to unify all the ideas that the Italian Left was unable to push after the defeat which allowed Giorgia Meloni to become the Prime Minister. For sure the growth of influence of Pope Francis was also a bit interconnected with the success of the populist party “Five Star Movement” founded by the comedian Beppe Grillo. This new political actor stressed the need for politics to be closer to the people, to minimize the show of the old Italian privileges of the past and in general to give the idea to be humbler. The Five Star Movement stormed the parliament asking its elected members not to be addressed anymore with the title of “Honorable” (Onorevole), in the first day of his mandate Roberto Fico, newly elected President of the Parliament took a normal bus to go to his office and not his luxurious ‘’blue car’’ as we call the vehicles for the political VIPs in Italy.
During the first government of Giuseppe Conte the humbling action of Pope Francis and the new political image that the Five Stars Movement imposed seemed to constitute a huge change in favor of the lower and disadvantaged classes in Italy. The Left could have this political giant, Pope Francis, able to operate and spread his message out of the political arena and almost immune from the notorious critical storms and games in Italian politics. Pope Francis was taking back for the Italian Left the spirit of the historical Communist Party leader Luigi Berlinguer when the Left was really interested in actively protecting factory workers and the lower classes.
Pope Francis was the one who set the new standards in the Vatican, residing no more in a rich and luxurious apartment but in only a room in Casa Santa Marta and even now for his death he asked for a simple coffin and a humble tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore where you will read only his name on it ‘’Franciscus.’’ His message of peace then was very strong and at the communication level he decided to be very vocal giving several interviews and commenting from the beginning on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Many journalists still remember his improvised press conferences and speeches on the airplane back home after a diplomatic mission abroad. He was always open to dialogue. In his frantic search for peace, he sometimes had some clashes and sparked some criticism.
Even if Pope Francis has consistently called for peace in Ukraine, emphasizing dialogue and negotiation over conflict, in a 2024 interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, he stated that Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” — a metaphor for initiating peace talks — even amid military setbacks. He then clarified that “negotiations are never a surrender” and encouraged Ukraine to seek mediation from countries like Turkey. These comments provoked criticism in Ukraine, where officials felt the Pope was somehow putting the two belligerents on the same level. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by highlighting the support of religious figures within Ukraine, contrasting it with distant mediation efforts. The Vatican later clarified that The Pope’s use of the “white flag” symbol was intended to advocate for a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution, not to suggest surrender but despite this explanation the Vatican neutrality was always perceived in Ukraine as hostile with the formula “if you are not with me, you are against me.’’
If the relations with Ukraine were not the best, the worst happened with Israel where the Vatican envoy was even denied access to some areas of the West Bank by Israeli authorities. Pope Francis did not take the diplomatic way highlighting the terrible massacre by Hamas, but he also condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza. In every international crisis The Pope tried the promote “Vatican diplomacy” and a less ‘’low profile attitude,” but he was nevertheless heavily criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump’s supporters for his human voice in favour of migrants.
At a diplomatic level, one of his biggest ‘’unfulfilled desires’’ was to go to China and try to build something there but it will remain one of his remarkable unfinished jobs.
Now much will depend on who will be the next Pope, as 400,000 people attended his funeral, and his legacy will continue to be gigantic from the political point of view. Let us see if the Vatican will continue in his progressive direction by giving support to an Italian Left still in search of a unifying strong leader of if we are going to see a more diplomatic and pragmatic approach that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was was the Vatican’s Secretary of State under Pope Francis, could embody as top of the list to be the new Pope. But be careful because someone once noted that in the Vatican Conclave (beginning May 7) “you can enter as Pope and exit a Cardinal.’’
