The Italian elections of February 2013: the end of the Second Republic?

The recent Italian elections ended in gridlock, contrary to what most observers expected. The left won in the Chamber but not in the Senate. To make things worse, the result in the Senate made it impossible to form a majority coalition between Bersani’s left and Monti’s centre, which many considered the most likely outcome of these elections. This left the Democratic Party, the winner in the Chamber, with the unpalatable option of having to form a cabinet seeking the support of either the Fivestar Movement or Berlusconi. Eventually the latter option prevailed with the formation of the Letta cabinet. There are a number of factors behind this unexpected result. The success of the Five-star Movement is one. Surprisingly it has become the largest party in the country, attracting votes from across the political spectrum and from all sectors of society. The weakness of the Democratic Party coalition is another. It missed the goal of extending its electoral base at a time when the right lost almost eight million votes. Actually, it also lost 3.5 million. Another factor yet is the poor performance of the Monti coalition, which failed to become a competitive actor in spite of the popularity the outgoing prime minister enjoyed until he decided to step into the political arena. Last but not least, a key role has been played by the weird electoral system used for the Senate.