A hung parliament would leave Italy with four possible scenarios to choose from after exit polls suggested former PM Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go Italy!) could clinch victory with a centre-right coalition including the eurosceptic League, and Brothers of Italy.
But initial projections suggest the coaltion will not get the absolute majority of 40 per cent required to govern.
This means Berlusconi could be forced into a larger post-election coalition with Five Star Movement in order to make up his majority.
The anti-establishment party, led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, was forecast to take 29 to 32.5 per cent, making it the single largest party in the elections.
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But if elected leaders are not able to find a solution, President Sergio Mattarella would be forced to adopt another solution.
The ruling centre-left alliance dominated by former prime minister Matteo Renzi’s ruling Democratic Party (PD) was projected to win 25 to 28 percent, but pollsters said the PD itself might end up only the fourth-largest group in the lower house of parliament.
During two months of grinding election campaigning, party leaders repeatedly ruled out any post-election tie-ups with rivals.
However, Italy has a long history of finding a way out of apparently intractable political stalemate.
Parliament will meet for the first time on March 23 and formal talks on forming a government are not likely to start until early April.
inancial markets have appeared little concerned by the Italian ballot, but investors are likely to take fright at any suggestion the Five-Star could form a coalition with the League.
Exit polls suggested the two forces would have enough seats to govern together and they have in the past shared strong anti-euro views. While the League still says it wants to leave the single currency at the earliest feasible moment, the 5-Star says the time for quitting the euro has passed.
Founded by comedian Beppe Grillo, 5-Star has sought to allay fears in EU capitals over its policies, dropping some of its more radical proposals, like leaving NATO, and promising to be business-friendly if they win power.
It has always shunned the idea of entering any formal coalition.
But following the announcement of the exit polls, Alfonso Bonafede, a close ally of 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio, told La7 television: “We will be a pillar of the legislature.”