Berlusconi Supports League Party Leader's Candidacy for Prime Minister of Italy

Following Italy's decisive elections, which did not yield a clear winner, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced on Wednesday, March 7, that he supports the leader of the League party, Matteo Salvini, for the position of new Prime Minister, according to an interview reported by Reuters and the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Berlusconi officially stated that he backs Salvini in forming a serious government in Italy. The four parties currently forming the center-right coalition in Italy agreed during the election campaign to ultimately support the leader of the party that receives the most votes in this election. Berlusconi's center-right party, Forza Italia, formed a coalition with two far-right parties, the Northern League (now simply called the League) and Brothers of Italy, as well as the center-right Christian Democratic party, We with Italy. The League received about 17% of the votes in the recent election, while Berlusconi's Forza Italia managed only 14%. Reuters described this outcome as a 'personal defeat' for Berlusconi, who, due to a court conviction related to a major corruption case, is unable to hold any government office until at least 2019. He utilized all his power and popularity to support the League party. However, none of the parties or coalitions managed to achieve the 40% threshold needed to form a government, and as expected, the upcoming government will be a coalition. Experts suggest that forming a coalition government in Italy could take 'weeks, if not months.' Meanwhile, the Five Star Movement, which positions itself against the ruling class and has significant popularity among the public, secured the highest vote share of 33% on its own. On the other hand, AFP reported on Tuesday that senior members of the defeated Democratic Party of Italy are seeking a deal with the Five Star Movement. Matteo Renzi, the leader of this party, resigned from his position on Monday following the election results and stated on Facebook that he would never align with this movement or the right-wing coalition. The center-left coalition, which includes Renzi's party, received only 23% of the votes in the Italian elections. Right-wing parties focused extensively on immigration issues during the recent elections, with Berlusconi personally promising to expel '600,000 illegal immigrants' from the country. Besides immigration, the 10.8% unemployment rate and the sluggish Italian economy were other focal points of the electoral campaigns. Italy has the second-highest debt in the European Union after Greece.