Leading in opinion polls has been the populist 5-Star Movement. But because the 5-Stars deny they’re a political party, their 31-year-old candidate for premier, Luigi Di Maio, nixes any entering into a postelection coalition government with established parties. Renzi’s Democrats have steadily slipped in opinion polls, after more left-leaning figures, including former Communists, bolted from the party he has been steering toward the centre. How the Italian election plays out might well depend on the biggest bloc in the opinion polls: those saying they’re undecided who will get their vote or if they’ll even vote at all, along with those who say they’ll boycott the vote. The Interior Ministry says among Italians living abroad, nearly 4.2 million are eligible to vote for the lower chamber and 3.8 million of them can also vote for the Senate.

Source: thestar March 02, 2018 21:33 UTC