Little decided with Italy election results

PROJECTIONS IN ITALY POINT TO HUNG PARLIAMENT

Election projections in Italy early today showed a centre-right coalition that includes an antimigrant party edging past the populist 5-Star Movement, but no single bloc or party with the support to win a majority in Parliament.

If confirmed by official results, the outcome could set the stage for weeks of political haggling to forge a new government.

An RAI State TV projection from Sunday’s election showed the centreright bloc in front with 35.5 per cent and the centre-left, which includes the Democratic Party leading the current government, lagging at 23 per cent.

The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement had 32.5 per cent. Another projection that looked only at how parties fared had the 5-Star Movement snagging 31.8 per cent.

The anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League of Matteo Salvini had 15.9 per cent of the vote and its main centre-right partner, former Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, came in at 14.2 per cent. The Democratic Party had just 19.6 per cent.

“Despite a stronger than expected performance, the M5S (Five-Stars) are still far away from securing an absolute majority,” Wolfango Piccoli, a London-based analyst with Teneo Intelligence, wrote.

Piccoli noted that Berlusconi and Salvini had forged a “gentleman’s agreement” stating that if their bloc secured a majority of the vote, whichever of their parties received more support could pick Italy’s next premier.

Berlusconi cannot hold public office now due to a tax fraud conviction and tapped European Parliament President Antonio Tajani as his choice for premier.