STRESS TEST

Populist, Right-Wing Coalitions Triumph in Italian Elections

But on track for a hung parliament as no bloc was expected to win requisite 40 percent.

According to early projections, populist and right-wing coalitions won big in Italy’s national elections held Sunday. A right-leaning coalition led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appears to have won the most number of votes, but the bloc will fall short of the requisite 40 percent required to form a government. The populist Five-Star Movement, which has said it is against forming coalitions, is likely to be the largest single vote-getter, while the ruling Democratic Party had a disappointing night. The result, a hung parliament, will trigger weeks of wrangling over which bloc can form a government—a process expected to be brokered by Italian President Sergio Mattarella.