As predicted by all the opinion polls, the coalition of right-wing
parties came out ahead by a wide margin in the parliamentary elections
held in Italy on 25 September. Fratelli d'Italia (FdI), the populist
party led by Giorgia Meloni, which won 4.26% of the vote in the previous
parliamentary elections on 4 March 2018, took more than a quarter of
the vote (25.99%), becoming the leading Italian political party just ten
years after its creation. The League (Lega), another populist party
led by Matteo Salvini, on the other hand, halved its result: 8.77% of
the vote. Forza Italia (FI), of former Council President (1994-1995,
2001-2006 and 2008-2011) Silvio Berlusconi, held on to a low 8.11% of
the vote, also half its 2018 score.
The coalition formed by Fratelli d'Italia, the League and Forza Italia
garnered 43.79% of the vote and won an absolute majority in the Chamber
of Deputies and the Senate. "For several years now, far-right
parties have been gathering almost 40% of voting intentions. But there
is a communicating effect between the League and Fratelli d'Italia: when
the former drops in the polls, the latter benefits," said Sofia Ventura, a political scientist at Bologna University.
The coalition of left-wing forces led by the Democratic Party (PD),
headed by Enrico Letta, which also includes Emma Bonino's Europa+
Democrats (EU+), Europa Verde, Luigi Di Maio's Civic Commitment (IC) and
the Green and Left Alliance (AVS), suffered a heavy defeat with 26.13%
of the vote. The call for a useful vote to block Giorgia Meloni did not
work. The Democratic Party obtained 19.07% of the vote. "The left was
unable to interpret social expectations. It substituted civil rights
for social rights. It forgot to respond to social demands, such as
finding a job, obtaining social recognition, welfare," said Massimiliano Valerii, director of Censis, a socio-economic research institute. "Enrico
Letta wanted to reform the party but this snap election did not give
him the time to do so. Moreover, the party is still torn between its
centrist and radical components," said Marc Lazar, historian and sociologist at Sciences Po.
The Five Star Movement (M5S), a populist party led by Giuseppe Conte,
managed to resist with 15.43% of the vote, even though it also halved
its result compared to the 4 March 2018 vote. The M5S, which has always
made the defence of the most disadvantaged Italians its priority, has
fought in recent weeks of campaigning for the maintenance of the
citizenship income (reddito di cittadinanza), an income of
between €480 and €9,360 per year that can be granted for 18 consecutive
months and which benefits more than a million families, and, more
generally, for better protection of citizens in the face of rampant
inflation and social problems.
The centrist coalition, called Terzo Polo, (third pole) and formed by
Carlo Calenda, leader of Azione (Az), and Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia
Viva (IV), won 7.79% of the vote. The two leaders are betting on the
divisions between the various parties of the right-wing coalition, which
could have difficulties in maintaining their unity, which could allow
the centrist coalition to impose itself as kingmaker.
The turnout was 64.07%, a sharp decline compared to the 4 March 2018 vote (-9.79 points)...
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