Italian Election's Going to Be Messy, Say Pollsters

5 Star Movement Italy — Five Star movement members Beppe Grillo (L), Luigi Di Maio (C) and Alessandro Di Battista attend a demonstration against the new electoral law in downtown Rome, Italy, on Oct. 25, 2017. PHOTO: Reuters/Tony Gentile/File Photo

Last polls before election predict 5 Stars to be largest party but falling short of a majority.

By Giada Zampano | 16 February 2018

POLITICO — The final opinion polls before the Italian election suggest it will be a struggle for any of the main parties to form a government.

Friday marks the last day in which opinion polls can be published ahead of the March 4 ballot, according to Italian law. All the polls have similar findings — one of the most unpredictable elections in decades likely ending with a hung parliament. That in turn could lead to a larghe intese — a grand coalition — even though all the main parties have ruled out such an arrangement during a heated campaign.

All the polls show the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement led by Luigi Di Maio becoming the single largest party, winning between 27 and 29 percent of the vote. That wouldn’t be enough for the 5Stars to rule on their own, however, and they have rejected the idea of striking a deal with the other mainstream parties.

The center-right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi has better chances of securing a working majority, pollsters say. The group — Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, plus the Northern League of Matteo Salvini and the right-wing Brothers of Italy — is predicted to get between 35 and 38 percent of the vote, which could be enough for a razor-thin majority. […]

Italian Election’s Going to Be Messy, Say Pollsters

Last polls before election predict 5 Stars to be largest party but falling short of a majority.

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