European leaders are anxiously watching the polls as Italians gear up to cast their votes on March 4, amid fears eurosceptic parties will seize power.
Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party and the Five Star Movement look to be in the ascendency and both have huge reservations about the Eurozone project.
And German MEP Bernd Kölmel said the single currency was now under severe threat.
He said: “The election winners will confront the EU with the fact that they no longer want the existing euro.
“Either Italy will leave the Eurozone or the euro must become more Italian. “We do not need to consult a doctor or pharmacist about the risks and side effects.
“A sufficient number of German members of parliament will be yielding and the EU will then have to subsidise Italy, Greece and other weak euro countries permanently.”
Economics journalist Christian Ortner believes the outcome would prove hugely expensive for richer European countries like Germany.
Writing for Wiener Zeitung, he said: “Even after two decades, Italy has failed to become economically fit enough for the euro, and the country is chronically suffering from the currency, which is far too strong for its performance.
“A withdrawal from the single currency could therefore be argued to some extent.”
He pointed out Italy’s GDP had plunged from £1.6trillion in 2007 to £1.4trillion last year, when adjusted for inflation.
And he said Italy being part of the Eurozone had contributed to the decline, leading to a chance it would quit.
He wrote: “On March 4, not only the decision will be made as to who will govern Italy in the future, but probably also about whether the euro will continue to exist in its current form – and who will have to pay for it.”
Final polls this month showed Mr Berlusconi’s centre-right bloc had a clear lead ahead of election day but is unlikely to win a working majority.
The anti-establishment Five Star Movement, easily the leading single party, is also tipped for a good result and are ahead in many marginal seats in southern Italy that are likely to decide whether the centre-right can form a government.
(Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg)