The electoral success of the Movimento 5 Stelle: An example of a left populist vote?

The Movimento 5 Stelle in Italy is often cited as an example of a European trend toward the rapidly increasing electoral appeal of populist parties. This article assesses the voting motives of the Movimento electorate in comparative perspective, based on the 2012 European Social Survey. The findings show that, in contrast to the populist electorate in other European countries, Movimento voters are not motivated by anti-immigrant sentiments or by left-right ideology. Rather, Movimento voters are motivated by a negative evaluation of the functioning of the political system, and the concluding discussion relates these findings to recent political history in Italy.