Volatile voters and a volatile party system: the results

The outcome of the Italian general election that took place on 4 March 2018 was largely unexpected. None of the competitors secured the majorities of seats in both chambers, but, most importantly, populist parties such as the Movimento 5 stelle and the Lega Nord increased their share of votes to a much greater extent than predicted by most polls, while the mainstream parties, mainly the Partito Democratico and Forza Italia, suffered significant losses of votes. As a result, a brand new government consisting of the Movimento 5 stelle and the Lega Nord was formed. In this chapter we give an account of what happened in the ballot box, analyzing the new electoral systems, the vote results of coalitions and party lists, the social bases of the various party electorates, and finally the effects of the election outcome on the party system as a whole and on its continuous transformation.