Italy goes to the polls after divisive election campaign

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

Italians are heading to the polls today to vote in one of the most uncertain elections in years and one that could determine if Italy will succumb to the populist, Eurosceptic and far-right sentiment that has swept through Europe.

The campaign was marked by the primetime airing of neofascist rhetoric and anti-migrant violence that culminated in the shooting last month of six Africans.

The results of the vote, which are expected to be announced early on Monday, could re-establish Silvio Berlusconi, the conservative former prime minister and billionaire forced out of office in 2011 under a cloud of scandal, as the dominant force in Italian politics.

They might also reveal a surge in support for Italy’s two main populist parties, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the far-right La Lega, which are both Eurosceptic, anti-free trade, pro-Kremlin and opposed to mandatory vaccinations despite Italy being hit by a measles outbreak.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/04/italy-goes-to-polls-divisive-election-campaign-berlusconi

[scipan]

1. I love elections. Polls close at 5pm Eastern, then exit polling will be released.

Centre-right: Forza Italia, led by four-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, aims to introduce a “parallel currency” for domestic use, keeping the euro for international trade; have a single, flat rate income tax for companies and individuals; abolish housing, inheritance and road tax; double the minimum pension; introduce a minimum income of €1,000 a month for all and block new immigrant arrivals.

Radical right: The League (formerly the Northern League), led by Matteo Salvini, would also introduce a parallel currency; abolish the EU’s fiscal compact; bring in a flat tax for all at 15%; allow earlier retirement; repatriate 100,000 illegal immigrants a year; and reopen Italy’s brothels. Brothers of Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, is a southern equivalent of the League with neofascist roots and similar policies.

Anti-establishment: The Five Star Movement, led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, proposes a minimum monthly income of €780; raising the budget deficit; repealing 400 “useless” laws including labour and pension reforms to allow earlier retirement and make firing harder; raising taxes on energy companies and improving relations with Russia.

Centre-left: The Democratic party, led by former prime minister Matteo Renzi, proposes an increase in the minimum wage; negotiating to abolish the fiscal compact and raising the budget deficit to 3% of GDP so as to cut taxes and increase investment.

Left: Free and Equal is led by Pietro Grasso, and is a new party uniting smaller groups that left Renzi’s Democratic party. It proposes repealing labour and pension reforms and boosting public spending.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/mar/04/italy-goes-to-the-polls-general-election-live

[brooklynite]

2. Live-blog

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2018-01-10/italy-parliamentary-election

[brooklynite]

3. First Exit Polls

Five Star Gets 28.8-30.8% in Italy Lower House: La7 Poll
Five Star at 29.5-32.5% in Italy Lower House: RAI Exit Poll
Democratic Party at 20-23% in Italy Lower House: Exit Poll
Forza Italia (Berlusconi) at 12.5-15.5% in Italy Lower House: Exit Poll
Northern League Gets 12.5-15.5% in Italy Lower House: RAI Exit Poll


Five Star Gets 29-32% in Italy Senate: RAI Exit Poll
Democratic Party at 20.5-23.5% in Italy Senate: Exit Poll
Forza Italia (Berlusconi) at 13-16% in Italy Senate: RAI Exit Poll
Northern League Gets 13-16% in Italy Senate: RAI Exit Poll