The ‘Government Contract’ between the League and the Five Star Movement in Italy: the Exchange between Political Sovereignty and Economic Statism

The coalition government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte between radical rightist League and radical leftist 5 Star Movement was born after the Italian parliamentary elections of March 2018. The moderate right of Forza Italia and the moderate left of Democratic Party were both defeated and were excluded by the government. This was an example of a coalition that was the outcome not of ideological proximity, but of rational choice. The government contract was the outcome of a strategic exchange between the two parties. The rightist League accepted some increase of the public expenditure requested by its populist partner, and the 5 Star movement accepted some limits to immigration flows, promoted by its xenophobic partner. The Italian political system, which since the 1990s had been characterized by moderate pluri-partitism and a centripetal competition, after 2018 has suffered a push towards radicalization. The experiment ended in the summer of 2019, when League decided to break the previous contract with 5 Star Movement, and a mainstream government between moderate (Democratic Party) and radical (5 Star Movement) left was formed.