Italy’s Populists Want to Close Stores on Sundays

Since forming an uncomfortable coalition government a year ago, Italy’s conservative League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement have found themselves at odds on everything from infrastructure and immigration to regulations on prostitution. There’s one thing, though, they agree on: shuttering stores on Sundays.

In April, Parliament began debating a law aimed at “returning the weekend to families.” Five Star has advocated shutting stores some 45 days a year. The League is proposing a milder version, easing restrictions in the runup to Christmas and other holiday periods. But they both say the laws would reinforce long-standing traditions such as Sunday lunch at home while giving retail workers a needed break and letting would-be shoppers go to Mass. “Town centers are deserted as families spend their day of rest at the mall,” says Andrea Dara, a League lawmaker working to find a compromise.