European Interest

Investors brace for another round of elections in Italy

Flickr/Presidencia de la República Mexicana/CC BY 2.0
Sources close to some of Italy’s main parties say there’s a chance President Sergio Mattarella could dissolve parliament in the coming days and send Italians back to the polls as early as July 29.

Italy has been without a government since inconclusive elections in March. Now sources close to some of Italy’s main parties say there’s a chance President Sergio Mattarella could dissolve parliament in the coming days and send Italians back to the polls as early as July 29.

The rumours started swirling after Italy’s interim prime minister, Carlo Cottarelli, met the president on May 29.

As reported by the Reuters news agency, major parties sensed Cottarelli’s mission was all but dead and called for parliament to be dissolved immediately.

“It would be best to go to elections as quickly as possible, as early as July,” said Andrea Marcucci, senate leader for the centre-left Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Italy suffered its biggest market selloff in years amid investor fears the election would deliver an even stronger mandate for anti-establishment, eurosceptic politicians, casting doubt on Italy’s future in the euro zone.

In other related news, the European Commission proposed on May 29 increased spending of EU money on Italy and other southern member states hit by the economic and migrant crisis.

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