Italy's Leading Party Looking for 'Common Ground' to Form Government

17:18 GMT, 9 March 2018

Sunday’s Italian election confirmed the rise of anti-establishment, Eurosceptic parties in yet another European nation, with a large chunk of Italians voting for such parties. However, no party won enough seats to govern on their own, and, due to the hung parliament result, negotiations are ongoing to form a coalition government.

Sputnik

Leader of the Five Star Movement (5SM) Luigi Di Maio said today he is “preparing economic policy proposals” to find “common ground” with other parties who could potentially form a coalition government with the Five Star Movement.

"We want to move quickly…. if the other parties want to propose other measures that will help people then we are ready to discuss them," Luigi Di Maio said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Italian Election: How Populist Parties Rise to Power

8 March 2018, 14:33 GMT

The Five Star Movement won over 32 percent of the vote, while around 17.7 percent of voters voted in favor of the Lega party, signaling a big increase in the party's supporter base.

Eurosceptic parties performed particularly well amongst youngsters, with over half of voters aged 18-30 voting for them.

President Sergio Mattarella will ultimately decide which party coalition will govern the country, but the frontrunners are already looking to enter talks to gauge compatibility.