Italy Election: Projection Points To Hung Parliament
Italy is on course for a hung parliament after voters backed right-leaning and populist parties, a vote projection released by state TV suggests.
Initial projections say ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition is set to win the most seats in the lower house of parliament.
It is expected to get between 225-265 seats, polls say – below the 316 needed for an absolute majority.
Voters punished the centre-left government in Italy as they have punished the centre left in so many European countries of late.
BBC Europe editor Katya Adler tweeted that it is “theoretically possible for the EU’s nightmare result to come true: a coalition between the ‘populist Eurosceptics’: Five Star and Lega [the League party]”.
Five Star seems to have performed better than anticipated, with figures based on early vote counting suggesting it will take the most seats – around 102-122, under the 158 needed for a majority.
Long queues were seen at voting centres around the country, with residents in Rome asked to turn up well before polls closed at 23:00 (22:00 GMT) to make sure they had time to cast their ballots.
Economic policy has been a key battleground, but observers say they have heard more from parties about pensioners than youths, which could be due to young voters’ high vote abstention rates.
