Report by Shuchi Giridhar
Sunday, 25th August, was the date of the Italian elections.
These Italian elections are taking place earlier than planned, making it a snap election. The whole country is selecting a new parliament. It has been a more than a century since an Italian election has taken place in autumn.
One of the most important concerns of the voters is the increasing energy prices.
The first task for the newly elected government would be to negotiate a price cap for Russian gas with the other EU countries. 95% of Italian towns have reported 19.1% turnout of voters. This is lower than the turnout of the 2018 general elections which was 19.5%.
The voting time ends at 11 PM local time when the first exit polls will be published.
Former PM Mario Draghi is not participating in this election.
Why is Italy conducting a snap election?
The main reason for the need of a snap election is the resignation of prime minister Mario Draghi on 21st July and the collapse of his government.
Prime minister Mario Draghi himself was elected due to the fall of another government in February 2021. This was the fall of the ‘Five Star Movement’ led by former prime minister Giuseppe Conte. Former PM Conte was elected prime minister of Italy in June 2018 and ended his reign in February 2021.
By retracting its support from PM Draghi’s government’s economic aid decree, the Five Star Movement triggered the downfall of the government.
One of the main reasons for this was the contrasting opinions around constructing a new waste to energy plant to solve the garbage problem in Rome. While PM Draghi’s government was in favour of the idea, the Five Star Movement contemplated the effects this would have on the environment. They were also arguments about amount of support to be offered to families.
How does the Italian system of election work?
Now that we know why they are having a snap election, let us understand how an election takes place in Italy. You are allowed to vote in Italy once you turn 18. But you don’t vote for your prime minister. A head of government is chosen after receiving a confidence vote and approval from president. To elect the president, a highly secretive method is used which is not revealed.
The number of seats was reduced in 2020-2022.
Instead of 630 MPs, the citizens will be voting for 400 MPs.
There are 200 senators instead of 315.
It has been 76 years since the Italian republic was created and due to the collapsing of the government, it has already seen 67 cabinets.
The candidates
The candidates participating in this election are
Giorgia Meloni is the leader of the party ‘Brothers Of Italy’. She is an Italian politician and journalist. She has been the president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party since 2020.
Silvio Berlusconi is a three-time prime minister and is running with his right-wing party ‘Forza Italia!'(Go Italy). Even though the stakes are high, he has formed an alliance with the Brothers of Italy party.
Giuseppe Conte – As mentioned before, he was the prime minister from 2018 to 2021. His is competing with his party – The Five Star Movement.
Enrico Letta- He served as Italy’s youngest prime minister. He was elected in 1998, at the ripe age of 32. He later rose to become a Premier in 2013 and was forced out in a year.
Matteo Salvini- He turned his once regional party into a national force with his ‘Italians First’ platform.
All images from the official Twitter handles of the respective leaders.