Members apart : a mass-elite comparison of mutual perceptions and support for the European Union in Germany and Italy

The multiple crises faced by the European Union – economic stagnation, geopolitical insecurity, refugee and migration flows – and some side-effects of the integration process (e.g. fiscal austerity, transnational redistribution, borders protection) seem not only to have exacerbated the public-elite divide in almost all member states, but also re-vitalised the North-South rift. If public support and trust in the capacity of EU institutions to resolve problems have seriously declined over the last few years, mutual prejudices between Northern and Southern countries have been reinforced by recent developments within the EU. The article uses the cases of Germany and Italy as illustrative examples of this ‘within’ and ‘cross-country’ malaise. By using a longitudinal and cross-sectional approach, it systematically explores the changing orientations of public opinion and political leaders with regard to the European integration project, supranational cohesion, and, last but not least, the perceived image of the other member state in the last four decades. The article moves forward the theoretical discussion on the state of intra-European relations by offering a unique source of data to study how attitudes towards the EU have been shaped by domestic and external conditions and how, in turn, these attitudes have impacted on the reciprocal views of Italians and Germans.