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Salvini's League Gains on Five Star in Italian Voter Preference

Salvini's League Gains on Five Star in Italian Voter Preference

(Bloomberg) -- Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini’s League party continues to gain on its coalition partner Five Star Movement in voter preference, according to an opinion poll in newspaper La Repubblica.

Support for the League rose to 33.7 percent last month from 32.2 percent in December, the Demos & Pi survey said. Five Star, led by Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, slipped to 24.9 percent in January from 25.7 percent near the end of 2018.

Salvini has become the most visible and vocal leader of the populist coalition that took office on June 1 of last year. There has been speculation that Salvini is facing pressure from party colleagues to seek new elections to solidify his power.

The current government’s overall approval rating slid to 57 percent last month, from 58 percent in October and 62 percent in September.

Demos surveyed 1,006 people from Jan. 28-30 for the poll, Repubblica said. The margin of error was 2.9 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Costelloe in Rome at kcostelloe@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo

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