«A riveder le stelle»? Voto e mutamento politico nel Mezzogiorno

Autori: Luciano Brancaccio, Vittorio Mete, Dario Tuorto
In: Meridiana. 96, 2019
doi:10.23744/2443
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Abstract

The central political role of the Five Star Movement (5SM) in the present legislature is a significant novelty for Italy. Furthermore, the sheer entity of this new political party’s success, together with its staying power over the course of time, are unique within the framework of politics worldwide. Another interesting aspect of the 5SM’s success is the geographical distribution of its electorate: in the 2018 general election, the 5SM was incredibly successful, gaining on average one half of all votes cast, in that part of Italy where socio-economic problems have traditionally been more urgent, and where the economic crisis has hit the hardest: Southern Italy. What are the underlying reasons for such massive support for the party in that part of Italy? Which candidates stood for the 5SM in the various different constituencies of the South? The essays contained in the monographic section of this volume published by Meridiana each adopt a different approach, and offer a broad range of answers, to such questions, by analysing specific local aspects of the complex relationship between voters, parties and electoral rules in Italy’s economically weakest regions. They also reveal a number of underlying characteristics of politics in the South: electoral volatility as an expression of strong, persistent political discontent; and the lasting importance of the local patronage networks that shape electoral consensus and political representation.

Keywords: South Italy; Five Star Movement; Elections