Despite entering a period of tense political uncertainty, Italy’s real estate sectors look set to continue to prosper, no matter what particular stripes its next government adopts.

At the time that Institutional Real Estate Europe was going to press, Italy’s parliament was still in the process of trying to unlock the stalemate that had followed the country’s general election. Italians went to the polls on 4 March, with anti-establishment parties emerging as the big winners. The Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle) became the biggest party with 31 percent of the vote, while the right-wing Northern League (Lega Nord) and the far-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) gained 18.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forward Italy (Forza Italia) only won 14 percent of the vote.

On 24 March, Five Star member Roberto Fico was elected speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a