ABSTRACT
The April 1992 general elections in Italy have been called an "electoral earthquake." Unlike other forces, die Lega's electorate is concentrated almost exclusively in northern Italy, where it won more than 17 percent in 1992. Lega Nord support continued to increase, both immediately after the elections and in die following months, and was confirmed both by opinion polls and by election results. In 1992 the Lega acquired a much greater territorial homogeneity in the distribution of votes in northern Italy. The temporal comparison of the development of the characteristics of the Lega "public" is rather difficult since strictly comparable data are not always available for the past. The differentiation between the Lega voters and those of other parties with "local roots" would thus seem not to be predominantly linked to the pride of belonging to a particular territorial area. The closed attitude towards "what is different" within the Lega's electorate is a much discussed and controversial matter.
