Grillo says 'lost democracy' shown

(ANSA) - Rome, November 24 - Low levels of voter turnout at Sunday's regional elections in Emilia-Romagna and Calabria haven't hurt the 5-Star Movement (M5S), its leader Beppe Grillo said Monday, even though both regions were won by the governing Democratic Party (PD).
    In a post on his blog, Grillo said citizens were rejecting government policy which reflects the country's "lost democracy".
    Overall, the M5S increased its total number of votes in Emilia-Romagna, winning about 159,400 votes compared with more than 126,600 votes in a 2010 regional election.
    Grillo said that in absolute terms, all of the other major parties lost voters, with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI) taking possibly the greatest hit, dropping from about 500,000 votes in 2010 to 100,500.
    In Emilia-Romagna just 37.7% of voters cast ballots, compared to 70% in May's European elections.
    In Calabria the turnout was 44.1%, compared to 45.5% in the European elections.