Will Italian Regional Elections Force a General Election?

I sat down with the journalist and 20-year Italian resident Nicholas Farrell to examine the implications of the regional elections in Emilia-Romagna on January 26th. According to polls a right-wing coalition led by Matteo Salvini’s League is set to win the region where Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI) and its heirs, now called the Partito Democratico (PD) have never lost control. Many commentators feel that such a defeat for the PD in its spiritual home will mean it feels obliged to resign from Italy’s government, where it is in coalition with the alt-left antiestablishment party Five Star (M5S) and this would probably initiate a general election.