Italian voters put their country on a potential collision course with the EU after delivering sweeping gains for populist and Eurosceptic parties in a general election that marked the biggest political upheaval in Europe since the 2016 Brexit vote.
With Italy on course for a hung parliament, the populist Five Star Movement and anti-immigration League party are likely to take a lead role in complex talks to form the next government. The outcome of protracted negotiations is likely to see Italy clash with Brussels on everything from budget rules to immigration.
The governing centre-left Democratic party suffered a crushing defeat, forcing Matteo Renzi, leader and former prime minister, to resign, while Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia lost its leadership of the centre-right coalition.