ROME (Reuters) – Two anti-establishment leaders made early plays to govern Italy on Monday, triggering concern in the euro zone following an inconclusive election where voters shunted mainstream parties to the sidelines.
With the euro zone’s third-largest economy seemingly facing prolonged political instability, the anti-immigrant League claimed the right to rule after its center-right alliance won the largest bloc of votes.
“We have the right and duty to govern,” League leader Matteo Salvini told a news conference.
Investors should have no fear, he said, but the prospect of a eurosceptic-led administration promising to ramp up spending hit shares, bonds and the euro.
Luigi Di Maio, the head of the biggest single party, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said his group had emerged as the clear winner on Sunday, capturing around a third of the vote, and should take the helm of the next government.
“We’re open to talk to all the political forces,” 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio said in a statement. “We feel the responsibility to give Italy a government (as) … a political force that represents the entire nation.”
With the vote count almost complete, none of the three main factions had enough seats to govern alone. President Sergio Mattarella is expected to open formal coalition talks in April, with early elections possible if no accord is found.
The ruling center-left Democratic Party (PD) suffered a crushing defeat, prompting former prime minister Matteo Renzi to resign as party leader. But he said the PD would play no part in the next administration.
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“It’s not a positive result because we have seen the ascent of parties that create some concern in terms of reforms, their views on the euro and their views on forming alliances,” said Maria Paola Toschi, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.
Formed in 2009, 5-Star has fed off public fury over institutional corruption and economic hardship. Its flagship proposal in the election campaign was a minimum monthly income of up to 780 euros ($963) for the poor, helping it draw overwhelming support in the underdeveloped south.
By contrast, the right dominated in the wealthier north, with support for the center-left largely concentrated into a narrow stretch of central Italy, leaving the country more politically divided than at any time in recent history.
“It’s what we expected, political deadlock. A government is needed,” Rome resident Giuseppe Bruni told Reuters. “We are in the hands of the president and the willingness of political parties to put a government together.”
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