A majority of Italian voters have supported Eurosceptic candidates in the national election, preliminary results showed, after decades in which Italy has steadfastly championed the European project.
Early results released by the interior ministry on Monday morning, as ballots continued to be counted, pointed to a hung parliament, though there was still a possibility that the centre-right coalition, with about 37% of the vote, could secure a majority once parliamentary seats are allocated.
Either result would represent a repudiation of Brussels by Italian voters, less than two years after the UK narrowly voted to leave the European Union.
Unlike British voters, Italians would not support an exit from Europe or a referendum on leaving the eurozone, but their backing of populist parties who have previously been open to a referendum on the euro – which would legally be exceedingly difficult to do – was an important barometer of the mood of the country.
The vote on Sunday also appeared to mark the political ascendency of two relatively new political parties that had until recently been considered fringe: the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which early results showed had 31% of the vote, and the anti-migrant and Eurosceptic League, formerly known as the Northern League, which performed far better than expected.
While the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had been seen as leading the centre-right coalition, early results showed he was beaten by his younger rival on the right, Matteo Salvini, following a campaign in which Salvini emphasised support for radical immigration policies, including mass deportations of immigrants who are in Italy illegally.
Salvini, who is known for his bombastic and often racist rhetoric, said on Monday that the performance of his coalition meant that voters had given the right the mandate to lead, and downplayed the suggestion that the coalition would still require a partner to win a majority.
“I am someone who keeps my word, and the commitment is for a centre-right coalition which won and can govern,” Salvini said in a reference to a “gentleman’s agreement” between him and Berlusconi that if the centre-right were to win a majority, whichever party comes out with the most votes within the coalition would name the next prime minister.
He also said that he would not form a coalition with the Five Star Movement and called the euro a currency that was bound to fail, though he ruled out a referendum on it.
The centre-left coalition headed by Matteo Renzi did worse than expected, winning 19% of the vote according to early results.
While Renzi’s leading lieutenant, Maria Elena Boschi, won a safe parliamentary seat in South Tyrol in northern Italy, two other prominent politicians, the interior minister, Marco Minniti, and the culture minister, Dario Franceschini, were defeated.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
