In this book leading academics provide comprehensive analysis of an election whose outcome has been perhaps the most dramatic in Italian history. Covering the political, economic and foreign-policy background, the campaign and the outcome, the book offers a sequel to earlier volumes on the 2001 and 2006 elections -- thus giving the added value of a work allowing direct comparison of 2008 with the previous elections -- while providing important insights into the current trajectory of Italian politics. Like the previous volumes, the book begins with the context in which the election took place -- before considering the preparations made by the two main electoral coalitions in the lead up to the campaign; the campaign issues; the role of the media; the electorate; the new parliament; the new government. Accessible to both specialists and the interested general reader, this book is essential reading for academics, election analysts, journalists and policy-makers alike.