President Sergio Mattarella of Italy dissolved the parliament and called for elections to take place on March 4, 2018.

The move is hardly a surprise although it finds the government in a difficult spot, with the ruling governing party lagging behind more than six percentage points on the polls. Leading the polls is the Five Star (M5S) movement, which campaigns on an anti-immigration ticket.

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and his far-right allies are also campaigning on an anti-immigration ticket....