Italy lurches towards yet another poll

The leader of Italy’s biggest party yesterday insisted the country should hold another election if an anti-establishment government is not imminently formed.

The last- ditch attempt at choosing a ruling coalition emerged as politicians sought to drag the country out of its political crisis.

Luigi di Maio, leader of the Five Star Movement, said fresh elections are inevitable unless his choice of prime minister is given the green light.

After toppling Italy’s establishment parties at the March poll, the party formed a partnership with the far-right group League, which would have Giuseppe Conte become prime minister.

But the prospect of europe’s first openly eurosceptic government imploded on Sunday when Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella blocked the plans over their choice of an economics minister who opposes the euro. This led to Giuseppe Conte quitting his new role.

An opinion poll yesterday suggested that the eurosceptic parties could increase their vote share, with League up eight per cent to 25.4 percent compared to its result at the March elections. And support for Five Star Movement appeared to hold steady at about 32.6 per cent.

Mr Di Maio said: ‘There are two paths ahead: either we launch the Conte government with a reasonable solution or we vote right away.’