The country is the euro zone’s third largest economy and, with Germany still seeing political uncertainty, it’s hoped that Italy won’t see a period of protracted uncertainty like its northern European neighbor.
The vote will be a test of populist sentiment in Italy, which, like other European countries, has seen a rise in populist, anti-establishment feeling. Movements like M5S have been borne out of this sentiment.
The Northern League party, under Matteo Salvini, has pledged mass migrant deportations. Italy has seen immigration rise dramatically in recent years because it is a first port of call for migrants and refugees making the perilous journey to Italy by boat from Africa. The increase has seen a correlating rise in racist attacks and neofascism in Italy.
Italy’s new electoral system will also be under close examination. In 2017, the upper and lower houses of parliament approved the adoption of a hybrid voting system that will see 36 percent of seats allocated via a “first-past-the-post” system and 64 percent proportionally.
Known as the “Rosatellum” electoral law, the as-yet-untested system is expected “to favor mainstream parties rather than M5S as they should be better in forging alliances and generally have stronger local MP candidates to win the first-past-the-post seats,” Citi economist Giada Giani told CNBC after the law was passed last year.
