Europe Votes: Huge win for Salvini in Italy, M5S falls to 3rd place
Matteo Salvini, Lega Party, got a big boost in the European Parliamentary election to become the No. 1 party in Italy, after winning more than 30 percent of the vote, according to early projections.
The Five Star Movement (M5S), that is in a coalition government with the Lega or League Party, ended up in the third place with 17.07% of the share of the vote. The Democratic Party (PD)saw a rebound and ended up second with 22.70%.
Salvini could use European electoral gains to leverage his position in the government and pass policies important to his base of northern Italian entrepreneurs, like a flat tax or the high-speed train connecting Lyon, France, with Turin.
Most analysts believe that Salvini is unlikely to seek an early election in Italy even with a big victory on the European stage.
But the government’s future seems to be at play, with the surprise results of the Democratic Party, which was in second place in the voting ahead of the League’s government coalition partner, the 5-Star Movement.
