|
ROME, Sept. 30-- The path to next year's elections in Italy has recently become clearer after the country's two largest parties determined their candidates. But experts here say it's still not the time to speculate on the election as a major uncertainty, a new electoral law, is yet to be finalized. A week ago, the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement picked political newcomer Luigi Di Maio to be its standard bearer in the upcoming vote. Therefore, the two largest parties in Italy have both decided on their candidates as the Democratic Party picked Matteo Renzi, former prime minister, in April. The two parties each enjoys the support of a little more than a quarter of the electorate, according to recent opinion polls. And the two, also according to the polls, are each at least 10 percentage points ahead of other parties, including the Forza Italia party of former prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi and the euro-skeptic Northern League. As the most likely rivals in the next year's showdown, Di Maio and Renzi wasted no time to attack each other. On the day of his selection as a candidate, Di Maio went out of his way to say he was ready to do battle with the more established Renzi. For his part, Renzi struck back, barely attempting to hide his view that Di Maio is a populist. "We have emerged from the economic crisis, but it is not enough," Renzi said, referring to signs that the Italian economy may finally be emerging from a long economic malaise. "It will not be easy to push the populists back." | 
