Populist, Eurosceptic parties performed well in Sunday’s Italian election, with the Five Star Movement and the League (La Liga) party now battling to form a majority government after the election yielded a hung parliament.
A survey by Techne — an Italian research and polling agency — has revealed that 60 percent of Italians aged 18-30 voted for anti-EU parties.
The Five Star Movement proved most popular amongst this age bracket, obtaining 44 percent of the vote. 13 percent voted for the La Liga party, while the Brothers of Italy (FdI) received three percent of the vote.
Coalition talks are ongoing, but President Sergio Mattarella will ultimately decide which coalition will govern the country.
On March 5, Brothers of Italy candidate Roberto Jonghi Lavarini told Sputnik that a right-wing coalition would strive for good relations with Russia and Eurasia.
“The future center-right government will be friends with Russia, will work on lifting the economic sanctions and resuming a privileged dialogue with President Vladimir Putin and the Eurasian world,” Roberto Jonghi Lavarini told Sputnik.
Clear Trend Across Europe
Right-wing, nationalist parties and candidates have also proven popular amongst youngsters in other recent elections across Europe, including last year’s French Presidential election, with voters aged between 18-24 emerging as Marine Le Pen’s strongest demographic.
Many European populist parties have seen their support base grow across all age brackets, arguably due to the influx of migrants into Europe, and the EU’s poor handling of the crisis.
Migrants typically used Libya as a launchpad to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Greece and Italy, before travelling inland to wealthier EU member states, such as Germany.
Countries worst affected — Germany, Sweden, Greece and Italy — are experiencing a clear trend of voters shifting rightwards on the political spectrum, in search of alternative leaders and policies to alleviate the situation.
Reasons Behind This Shift
Surging crime and the emergence of “no-go zones” — admitted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel just last month — are perhaps the most troubling matters for voters, and potentially the driving force of Europe’s changing political landscape.
The financial and economic implications of hosting vast amounts of migrants are inevitably also a cause for concern, and an influencing factor on public opinion.
Germany and Sweden have well-funded migrant welfare programs, with billions of Euros of public money allocated annually to these initiatives, instead of being spent on other projects or areas of the economy.
Housing and already oversubscribed public services — such as education and healthcare — are being placed under further pressure as a consequence of the EU’s “open-door” migrant policy, adversely affecting those who can’t afford private alternatives.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
