The day after the elections in Italy finds the parties that came out of the defeat defeated, in great difficulty. Berlusconi's "Forza Italia", the center-left "Democratic Party" and the left-wing "Free and Equal" movement were not rewarded by the popular vote and will find it difficult to play a significant role in any developments.
The only consolation for the former Cavaliere party is that he is part of the conservative coalition that managed to get 37% of the vote. But, as is well known, the first party of this far-right coalition was Matteo Salvini's xenophobic League, with Forza Italia not exceeding 14%. For the first time, "Mr. TV" realizes that he can not be the protagonist of developments, and his party, normally, does not have the power to nominate a candidate for prime minister. According to the press, internal disputes and conflicts have already begun, with many MPs and executives accusing Silvio Berlusconi's close associate and lawyer, Niccolo Gedini, of making fundamental mistakes in the selection of persons for the ballot papers. At the same time, analysts at Rai Public Television believe that Forza Italia "left southern Italy, something that helped the Five Stars triumph".
The center-left Democratic Party is in the eye of the storm. Matteo Renzi's secretary-general decided to resign after a landslide defeat (18,7% of the vote). But he added that he would leave the party leadership on the condition that an extraordinary congress be convened, and that his successor be elected by open ballot. Renzi does not want the Democrats to ally with either the Five Stars or Salvini's League. His logic is that the party can not coexist with those who pre-empted it throughout the election campaign. In this way, however, the former Italian prime minister risks further marginalizing the center-left and causing real outbursts of anger inside the "Democrats". Because many executives are already letting it be known that whoever lost the election can not decide the future line to be followed.