New statistics from the recent Italian election show 75 per cent of the youngest first-time voters — born in 1999 — voted for anti-establishment parties.
The data, which was compiled by Italian polling firm SWG, shows that the vast majority of young first time voters reject the political establishment, Italian poll-tracking website Termometro Politico reports.
The populist 5 Star Movement (M5S), which has promised to implement a universal basic income and be tough on mass migration, received the most votes with close to half, or 43 per cent. Second was the right-wing populist La Lega which garnered 19 per cent of the support of the first-time voters.
The establishment left-wing Democratic Party (PD) came last with young people with a mere 12 per cent of their vote, despite numerous attempts to get the youth vote with a 500 euro “culture bonus” payment scheme.
For elderly voters the result was almost the opposite, with the PD coming in first at 26 per cent — but the 5 Star Movement did come in second with 22 per cent. SWG did not clarify what they defined as “elderly” in the polling data. The elderly group also had far more voting abstentions compared to the 18-year-olds, who had a massive 81 per cent voter participation.
While many had predicted before the election that young people were heavily leaning toward populist parties, the actual results of the Italian election sent shockwaves throughout Europe.
The centre-right coalition of La Lega, led by firebrand Matteo Salvini, and Forza Italia, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, came first in the election and look to govern, but did not meet the 40 per cent threshold for a majority.
Salvini had ruled out a coalition with the 5 Star Movement but said on Friday that the centre-left PD should support the centre-right platform arguing “our program has concrete and feasible proposals.”