The Eurosceptic Five Star Movement (MS5) leads the the country’s opinion polls ahead of the general election on March 4.
The MS5, led by outspoken MP Luigi Di Maio, has repeatedly hinted at holding a referendum on Italy‘s membership of the euro.
Italy is the eurozone’s third-largest economy, behind Germany and France, meaning a vote could tear the entire currency union apart.
The Mediterranean country’s finances are in deep turmoil, with its public debt at roughly 130 percent of GDP.
Other populist parties have adopted increasingly anti-EU stances as a result of the nation’s economic woes.
In a furious rant earlier this week, centre-right Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini said: “Europe can go f*** itself!”
“Europe has been punishing us for the last 15 years and we are worse off than 15 years ago. European measures are the last thing I am interested in.”
Lega Nord is currently in a pre-election coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and the neo-facist Brothers of Italy (FDI).
Former prime minister Mr Berlusconi is barred from running for public office after being convicted for tax evasion in 2012.
But this has not stopped the maverick 81-year-old from re-entering the political fray.
And he is even seeking to overturn his ban by taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
The ruling Democratic Party is the only major pro-EU contender in the upcoming elections.
But months of divisions have destabilised Matteo Renzi’s party and the party is struggling in opinion polls.
The EU’s economic affairs chief Pierre Moscovici has admitted Brussels is watching Italy’s political situation with a keen eye.
He earlier this week: “Italy is preparing for elections, the outcome of which is somewhat uncertain.
“What ruling majority will emerge from the vote? What programme? What European commitment?”
Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg