The increase in income and wealth inequality in Italy is well documented, but less attention has been devoted to its association with social and political outcomes. This article investigates the association between inequality and several variables on socio-economic conditions with the evolution of Italian politics over the 1994–2018 period. Voting in Italy’s regions for the centre-left and centre-right coalitions—with a focus on the Lega—is examined in seven rounds of general elections, before and after the 2008 crisis, which emerges as a key divide in these relationships. The centre-left vote is higher in the regions with an increase in mean wealth and employment rates and shows a reversal after 2008 in the support of part time employees. The centre-right vote is associated with impoverished middle classes and an increase in disparities of Southern regions. The associations shown by Lega voting are distinct from those of other centre-right forces. While political and cultural factors are important to understand political changes, our findings show that a more unequal and distressed society is clearly associated with changes in electoral behaviour.

意大利收入和财富不平等的加剧有据可查，但很少有人关注它与社会和政治结果的关系。本文调查了 1994 年至 2018 年期间意大利政治演变的不平等与社会经济条件的几个变量之间的关联。在 2008 年危机前后的七轮大选中审查了意大利各地区对中左翼和中右翼联盟的投票——重点是联盟——这成为这些关系中的一个关键分歧。在平均财富和就业率增加的地区，中间偏左的选票更高，并且在 2008 年之后兼职员工的支持出现逆转。中间偏右的选票与贫困的中产阶级和南部地区差距的扩大有关。Lega 投票显示的关联与其他中右翼势力的关联不同。虽然政治和文化因素对于理解政治变化很重要，但我们的研究结果表明，一个更加不平等和痛苦的社会显然与选举行为的变化有关。