Italy: Anti-establishment parties lead election results March 5

Event

As of 23:00 (local time) on Monday, March 5, election results from the March 4 vote showed that Italy’s governing center-left Partito Democratico (PD) was set to suffer its worst electoral defeat in history, with about 19 percent of the vote. Forza Italia, the center-right party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won 14 percent of the vote, while the far-right La Lega won nearly 18 percent. Anti-establishment Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) garnered the largest share of the vote with 32 percent.

It is unclear which parties will form a governing coalition. However, anti-establishment and far-right parties earned unprecedented shares of the vote, bringing the possibility of additional protests nationwide by left-wing and anti-fascist groups in the coming days and weeks.

Context

The Italian parliament was dissolved in late December 2017. Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing La Lega, promised to deport 500,000 refugees in five years should his party win. Left-wing and anti-fascist protests were organized in several cities in the days leading up to the election, notably including in Pisa, Turin, Bologna, Naples, and Venice. Several of these protests have resulted in clashes between left-wing protesters and police.

Advice

Individuals in Italy are advised to monitor developments to the situation, avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.