European Elections in Italy and Europe
in Italian Politics
The European elections constituted the most important electoral
appointment of 2009 in Italy.1 For this reason, the electoral campaign
became embroiled in a heated discussion of major relevant national
themes. On the one hand, this was in line with what had taken place
in the preceding elections; on the other hand, with respect to the recent
past, one also observes three fundamental differences. The first is that
the elections were regulated by an electoral law that had been deeply
modified in key aspects. Second, as a consequence of these modifications,
the number of Italian parties represented in the European
Parliament was reduced from 15 in 2004 to 5 in 2009.
