Reportage
No Kings in Rome calls ‘check’ on Trump and Meloni
The surprising thing is that a demand that until recently seemed highly unrealistic was now so commonplace that it faded into the background: the call for Giorgia Meloni's resignation.
It was the day of No Kings, and one must look at things in perspective to understand the impetus behind the enormous mass of people – 300,000 strong – that cut through Rome on Sunday. Some saw it as nothing more than a large march stretching from the city center all the way to the junction with the Abruzzo highway. They perhaps noticed the massive turnout, the pragmatic radicalism of its stance and the evidence of the crisis within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government about the true nature of its relationship with a society it thought it had managed to tame. And they would be right about all of that.
However, the most attentive observers noticed that the No Kings demonstration that crossed Rome on Saturday was actually two events in one.
There was a first part, more restrained and still chilled by the hardships of the sovereignist winter, which could be seen in their words of resistance and closed ranks. It was a fine display of resilience in the face of reactionary challenges and the attacks by the oligarchs, the titular “kings.” Without this first part, the second would never have been possible. But there was a precise moment – which those passionate about Roman urban topography might pinpoint between Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore and Via Merulana – when the long procession took on a different momentum. It broke free from its own constraints and the ghosts of the recent past, became aware of the sheer mass of people who had taken to the streets and recontextualized the historical moment. It drew warmth from the right wing's defeat in the justice referendum. People of different generations and belief systems took note of the reshuffling brought about by the resistance against sovereignism, and they all pushed forward, offering a glimpse of the power of the moves they have in store: the pawns putting the kings in check.
That was the moment when it started to feel like the whole march was walking downhill, despite the many miles still to go. At that point, the march covered the long stretch of road leading from Piazza San Giovanni – the traditional site of major labor union rallies and symbolic events – to the city's ring road, and the blockades at the on ramps recalled those in the general strikes for Palestine. As if coming full circle, the entire diverse makeup of the crowd rediscovered the meaning of the last several difficult months.
“The pieces of the old world are falling apart,” speakers announced from the lead truck. “The rich are speculating on war too; they want to profit even from technological revolutions. We must challenge them for this ground. To imagine a way out, we must stand together and fight against the movers of capital.” They added: “They said it was impossible for us to get organized. That wasn't true. We are the ones who will change the world; we are already doing it, all together.”
There had been the ugly prelude of the police persecution against MEP Ilaria Salis. There had been the gauntlet of searches and police checks on the dozens of buses traveling to Rome from all over the country. There had been the rollercoaster of mixed signals – back and forth between the Rome police headquarters and the Interior Ministry – which alternated between attempts at dialogue and iron-fisted threats to enforce public order. None of this managed to intimidate a demonstration that first took a defensive posture to assess what might happen on this chilly Roman afternoon under the biting north wind, and then opened up toward the city and the major protests still to come. The surprising thing is that a demand that until recently seemed highly unrealistic was now so commonplace that it faded into the background: the call for Giorgia Meloni's resignation.
The marchers, of course, demanded she step down: they know full well that the prime minister's honeymoon with the country is truly over and that it is time to go on the offensive. But they also had the intelligence to perceive that the road to a political alternative – much like the one leading to the ring road they intended to block – is still a long one. It will require the ability to hold together all the diverse factions of the grassroots movements and political forces that have ventured to join. One of the key upcoming events, organizers explain, is the major European demonstration against rearmament – under the slogan “Welfare not Warfare” – to be held in Brussels on June 14 alongside European trade unions, protesting the transition towards militarization being forced upon the EU's industrial backbone. The piecemeal Third World War is marching on, but it is no longer a given that a wartime regime will automatically manage to herd public opinion toward nationalism.
“The result from the ballot boxes must pour out into the streets,” shouted the young protesters from Naples with pride – the major city where the “No” vote was strongest. This perfectly captures a dual awareness. First, the awareness of those who know they were the decisive factor – providing the critical mass in terms of demographics and social roots – for the “No” victory. Second, the awareness of those who understand that this “No” must be grounded in the concrete reality of ongoing struggles: it must be reaffirmed starting the morning after the vote. This is the message from students and social centers, the CGIL labor union, the COBAS and ADL grassroots unions, along with the contingent from ARCI, the Non Una di Meno feminist movement and the iconic “Insorgiamo” (Let's Rise Up) banner from the GKN factory collective.
Bringing up the rear were the political parties: alongside the Green and Left Alliance were delegations from the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement (though without their leaders), as well as the Communist Refoundation. And there were the ground crews of the Global Sumud Flotilla: the Gaza solidarity mission that created a new paradigm, reignited grassroots movements and stirred public opinion through concrete action is about to set sail again. Once more into the breach.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/scacco-a-re-e-regine-i-no-kings-si-prendono-roma-e-il-futuro on 2026-03-29