Abstract
The March 2018 Italian general elections caused a sea change in the political system. The article seeks to analyse the elements of novelty present in the vote and the subsequent political developments by focusing on the victorious parties, the Lega and the Five-Star Movement. Their ideological appeal is placed within the context of the Europe-wide surge of populist parties, but also traced back to the long-term determinants of political dissatisfaction characterising modern Italy. While emphasising the magnitude of the populist wave, the balance of the evidence from the first months of the populist coalition government suggests that the liberal democratic institutions are not under imminent threat.
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