Italy Is Having an Election. Most Italians Are Too Depressed to Care.<br />“Ultimately, we feel far away from Rome.”<br />In Taranto, Rome’s influence is a visceral force as the Ilva steel mill — one of the largest in Europe — spews toxic dust<br />that blackens the windows of surrounding neighborhoods.<br />The trouble for Italy — as for much of the world — is that rising company fortunes no longer produce many jobs.<br />“Voting is useless,” Mr. Vagali said as he stood outside the gates of the steel mill.<br />Less than five years after she graduated from university, Emanuela Muolo, 28, has<br />already given up her dreams of a career in the field she studied, financial law.<br />He works at the Ilva plant, and he favors Five Star, given the party’s talk of building a new economy centered on green energy<br />Anti-establishment parties are drawing support from the economically distressed<br />— especially the populist Five Star movement, which is leading in many polls.
