Hard on the heels of waste and contaminated cheese scandals, Italy’s politicians are descending on Naples and nearby regions for their last week of campaigning, knowing that the volatile south is where this election is likely to be won and lost.

Campania, the region around Naples crippled by the far-reaching impact of its recurring rubbish crisis, is one of several southern battlegrounds where the ruling centre-left Democratic party risks losing key Senate seats to Silvio Berlusconi’s opposition People of Freedom.