The Italian 2014 EP election. A Route to Euroscepticism?

Italians have always been considered among the stronger supporters of the European integration process, but this argument has been turned upside-down by more than seven years of economic crisis. Italy seems to be no more europhile and the 2014 EP election results proved that more than half of the electorate is now represented by political parties that have run campaigns on Eurosceptic platforms. EU has become the preferred target of populism and the political environment - characterized by a permanent campaign - has contributed to create a picture of the EU as a set of wastes, ineffective institutions. Research questions are: which are the reasons for this dramatic shift? Why has Italy turned Eurosceptic?