Europe at the polls. Lessons from the 2013 Italian elections

Renaud Dehousse (1)

1 CEE - Centre d'études européennes et de politique comparée (Sciences Po, CNRS)

The 2013 Italian elections were in several respects a 'Europeanised' contest. As a severe institutional crisis unfolded, political parties paid great attention to European issues, broadly defined, and a 'European-level party', the European People's Party (EPP), made an unprecedented attempt to shape the outcome. The election results must therefore be analysed in relation to Europe. Negative aspects appear to have prevailed in both the discourse of parties and the choices of voters. In terms of policy, Italians clearly rejected the fiscal austerity policy advocated by the European Union since the outbreak of the crisis. Regarding EU governance, the predominantly negative character of this Europeanisation process may be a source of instability in the future.

Domaines: Science politique

Renaud Dehousse. Europe at the polls. Lessons from the 2013 Italian elections. Jacques Delors Institute Policy Paper, 2013, 92, pp.1-14. ⟨hal-01024858⟩