Class,gender and voting in Italy

This article focuses on changing voting patterns in Italy after the demise of the traditional parties and explores two main issues. Has voting become ‘individualised’, with a breakdown of class‐based and locally based sub‐cultures? Have gender voting patterns become homogenised or is there a re‐emergence of a gender gap in voting (as detected in other European countries)? Having established that a marked discrepancy between male and female voters exists in Italy today, the article assesses the nature of the discrepancy and its consequences in terms of the political influence of male and female voters and the resilience of political sub‐cultures.