Italian election results: Brussels calls for 'stable government' in Italy after Eurosceptics surge

The Five Star Movement and the League are no friends of the EU

Lega far right party leader Matteo Salvini could join the government (AFP/Getty)

The European Commission has said it hopes a “stable government” can be formed in Italy after preliminary results saw a collection of right-wing, Eurosceptic and populist parties with a majority in the country’s parliament.

The Eurosceptic, anti-establishment Five Star Movement was the biggest party, with around 32 per cent of the vote, while the far-right League and centre-right Forza Italia took around 17 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

The centre-left Democratic Party, led by centrist Matteo Renzi, won just around 19 per cent of the vote, down heavily on the previous elections.

A European Commission spokesperson refused to be drawn on the nature of the results, but told reporters in Brussels: “On the Italian election, what I can say on behalf of the Commission is that we understand that the official results will not be announced until later today.

“We have confidence in President Mattarella’s abilities to facilitate the formation of a stable government in Italy.

“In the meantime, Italy has a government lead by Prime Minister Gentiloni with whom we are working closely.”

Forza Italia, which is led by former PM Silvio Berlusconi, is pro-European, while the Five Star Movement and the League are varying degrees of Eurosceptic.

The mathematics in the Italian parliament suggests that it will be difficult to form a government without the participation of at least one of the two Eurosceptic groups – with coalition negotiations likely to be long and complicated.

As the results rolled in, League leader Matteo Salvini declared that his party had a “right and duty” to lead a right-wing coalition with the centre-right and stepped up his attack against the EU.

“I am someone who keeps my word, and the commitment is for a centre-right coalition which won and can govern,” he said on Monday.

Mr Salvini also explicitly attacked European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and repeated that the “euro is a failed project destined to end”.

The Italian election follows the Austrian election last year, which landed the Eurosceptic and far-right FPO in a right-wing coalition government with conservatives.

After that contest, the Commission called for a “pro-European government”. The FPO was made to drop its Eurosceptic policies by its coalition partner as a condition of going into government – where it has relentlessly focused on immigration and Islam.