Surge for populist leaves Italy in limbo

THE EUROSCEPTIC, anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which has drawn support from Italians fed up with traditional parties and a lack of economic opportunity, was predicted to come second to the coalition. THE BOOST for farright and populist parties h

Rome, March 5: A surge for populist and far-right parties in Italy’s election could result in a hung parliament with a rightwing alliance likely to win the most votes but no majority after a campaign dominated by anger against immigration.

The projections based on early results on Monday also showed the far-right League Party ahead of media mogul Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (Go Italy) party within the right-wing coalition in Sunday’s vote. That raises the prospect of League leader Matteo Salvini, who has promised to shut down Roma camps, deport hundreds of thousands of migrants and tackle the “danger” of Islam, becoming Italy's next prime minister.

The eurosceptic, antiestablishment Five Star Movement, which has drawn support from Italians fed up with traditional parties and a lack of economic opportunity, was predicted to come second to the coalition.

The boost for far-right and populist parties has drawn comparisons to Britain’s vote to leave the EU and the rise of US President Donald Trump.

“The European Union is going to have a bad night,” Marine Le Pen, leader of France's National Front, tweeted.

Resentment at the hundreds of thousands of migrant arrivals in Italy in recent years fired up the campaign, along with frustration about social inequalities.

The ruling centre-left Democratic Party, which has struggled to get across its pro-European message of gradual economic recovery, was left trailing. “This is a very clear defeat for us,” Michele Martina, a minister, told reporters.

Andrea Marcucci, one of the party's lawmakers, said: “The populists have won and the Democratic Party has lost”.