Italy's voters ditch the centre and ride a populist wave

About 50% of Italians who voted in national elections on Sunday supported populist parties that were once considered fringe, according to early election exit polls and voter projections.

The most likely result of the national election seemed either a win by the centre-right coalition headed by Silvio Berlusconi, the 81-year-old former prime minister, or a hung parliament in which populist parties – the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the xenophobic Northern League – would have considerable influence in the creation of a new government.

The exit polls showed Berlusconi’s coalition – which includes the Northern League – winning up to 36% of the vote, a result that could potentially help the billionaire media magnate clinch a fourth election victory under a complicated new Italian election law.

Analysts were also poring over early data that suggested another potential political upset: Matteo Salvini, the firebrand head of La Lega – as the League is now known – beating out Berlusconi within the centre-right coalition.

Under a “gentleman’s agreement” ,whoever emerges as the winner between the two will choose the next prime minister, if the coalition were to win a majority.

Berlusconi is not eligible to serve personally because of a previous tax conviction, but said he would choose Antonio Tajani, the European parliament president, as prime minister.

Two facts seemed indisputable: that Italian voters, who have traditionally been risk averse, were ready to ditch the big mainstream parties, and that the centre-left party headed by Matteo Renzi had an abysmal election.



Source: theguardian

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