Anti-establishment wave sweeps Italy

Far-right party emerges as major player

Luigi Di Maio, whose 5-Star Movement was the single largest party.

Two anti-establishment leaders made early plays to govern Italy on Monday, sending ripples across the eurozone after voters relegated mainstream parties to the sidelines in delivering a hung Parliament.

With the bloc’s third-largest economy seemingly facing prolonged political instability, the anti-immigrant League claimed the right to rule after its centre-right alliance won the largest bloc of votes. “We have the right and duty to govern,” its leader Matteo Salvini told a news conference.

Coalition talks

Minutes later, the head of the biggest single party, the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement that won 32.3% of votes, said it was ready to take on a responsible leadership role.

“We’re open to talk to all the political forces,” Luigi Di Maio, 31, said in a statement.

With the vote count well advanced and full results due later on Monday, it looked almost certain that none of the three main factions would be able to govern alone, and President Sergio Mattarella is not expected to open formal coalition talks until early April.

The rightist alliance that also includes former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go Italy!) was on course for around 37% of the vote — but for the first time the League emerged as the senior partner.

Despite overseeing a modest recovery, the Democratic Party's centre-left coalition trailed on 22 percent.