(Bloomberg) -- Matteo Salvini’s move to bring down the government in the middle of the summer -- a season when millions of Italians flock to the beaches and want nothing to do with politics -- doesn’t appear to be going down well with voters.
The first official poll published at the end of a frantic week in Rome points to a drop in support for Salvini’s anti-migrant League party. By contrast, backing has increased for the Five Star Movement, his former ally, and for the Democratic Party, who are in talks to form a new government.
A Tecne poll published by TGCom Thursday found that support for the League has dropped to 31.3%, from about 38% earlier in the month. Five Star would currently get 20.8%, up from 17.5%, and the center-left Democratic Party 24.6%, compared with 22.4%.
The poll of 1,000 Italians was conducted on Aug. 21, the same day President Sergio Mattarella started consultations with parties to gauge the chances of a new parliamentary majority which would spare the country a snap vote. Mattarella wants to see if Five Star and the Democrats can come up with a viable program to lead the country.
Luigi Di Maio’s Five Star and the Democrats, led by Nicola Zingaretti, have until Tuesday to draw up a convincing coalition agreement, after Salvini withdrew his support for the administration led by Giuseppe Conte in a bid to consolidate power.
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