Italy's new coalition government, which has pushed out
of power far-right leader Matteo Salvini, is not popular among
voters, according to a survey published Saturday.
The new executive, backed by the anti-establishment Five Star
Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), is expected
to be softer on migration and be less confrontational towards the EU.
But 52 per cent of Italians have a negative opinion of it, against 36
per cent with a positive one, an Ipsos poll published by the Corriere
della Sera newspaper said.
If people with no opinion are excluded, the government's approval
rating is 41 per cent, one of the lowest for a new administration,
Ipsos found.
The government was formed after Salvini's League party pulled out of
a previous government with the M5S. Salvini hoped to trigger snap
elections and capitalize on favourable opinion polls.
Instead, the M5S and PD, two former sworn enemies, unexpectedly
joined forces to shut Salvini out and avoid elections in which they
stood to fare badly.
Saturday's poll showed that 45 per cent of Italians expect the
government to last not more than a year, and 71 per cent think it
should focus on tax cuts and welfare reforms.
On the other hand, only 11 per cent of those polled consider it a
priority to reverse hardline migration policies championed by
Salvini.
The government is due to face confidence votes in the lower and upper
houses of parliament on Monday and Tuesday. It is expected to win
them, but probably with a slim margin in the Senate.
Only 11 per cent of those polled consider it a priority to reverse hardline migration policies championed by Salvini