- Paul Kirby
- BBC News, Rome
photo source, Archyde.com
Meloni said it was sending a clear message that the people wanted a right-leaning government.
An exit poll for the general election conducted in Italy on the 25th (local time) showed that the right-wing coalition led by the Italian Brothers (Fdl) party had the most votes. As a result, far-right FDL leader Giorgia Meloni is expected to become Italy’s first female prime minister.
Meloni is expected to form the most right-wing government in Italy after World War II.
The far-right of Italy, the third largest economy in the European Union (EU), is likely to destabilize many in Europe.
But shortly after the general election, Meloni said that the Fdl party “will come to power for everyone” and will not lose trust.
Meanwhile, Meloni told reporters in Rome, “The Italian people have sent a clear message that they support the right-wing government led by the FDL.”
In fact, the Fdl party, led by Meloni, is expected to tentatively get up to 26% of the vote, which is higher than the Democratic Party (PD), to which Enrico Letta, the most likely rival, belongs.
The right-wing coalition, which consists of the FDL party, the far-right League (Lega) party, led by former Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and the Forward Italy (FI) party, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is expected to receive 42.2% of the vote in the current Senate vote. It is expected to dominate both the House and the Senate.
But who will ultimately become the next prime minister depends on the Italian president, not Meloni, and it will take some time for a final decision to be made.
Meanwhile, Meloni is trying to soften his image of rigidity by emphasizing support for Ukraine or diluting anti-EU colors, but the FDL party itself has its roots in the fascist forces of former dictator Benito Mussolini.
At a rally earlier this year by Spain’s far-right Vox Party, Meloni said, “I’m in favor of natural family formation, I’m against the lobbying of LGBT people,” and “I’m in favor of sexual identity, but I’m against gender ideology … against Muslim violence.” Against, in favor of strengthening border defenses, against mass immigration … against huge international finance … against EU officials!”
Expected results of the vote in the House of Representatives (Source: Italian Ministry of Interior)
Meanwhile, the center-left coalition is expected to lag far behind the Fdl’s expected 26% turnout, Deborah Seraciani, deputy leader of the Democratic Party (PD), which leads the center-left coalition, said it was a sad evening for Italy.
He also argued that the right-wing “doesn’t take over the whole country even if it wins a majority in Congress.”
After Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s powerful cabinet, which he had led for one year and five months, was overthrown in July, Italy’s leftists have been in a gloomy mood even before the general election.
The Five Star Movement Party, led by Giuseppe Conte, who currently ranks third in the expected turnout, is promoting several center-left policies, but it does not completely agree with the leader of the Letta Democratic Party (PD).
Meanwhile, according to the Italian Ministry of Interior, the turnout in this general election was a record low at 63.82% just before the close. This is a decrease of nearly 10 percentage points from the 2018 figure. In particular, the turnout was low in southern regions such as Sicily.
Italy is a founding member of the EU and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, if you look at Meloni’s remarks on the EU so far, it looks similar to Hungarian Prime Minister Orban Viktor, who is a nationalist.
All of Meloni’s political allies have close ties with Russia. Silvio Berlusconi, 85, the leader of the Forward Italy (FI) party, said last week that President Vladimir Putin had no choice but to invade Ukraine under circumstances, and the leader of the Salvini League (Lega) questioned Western sanctions against Russia.
In addition, Italy previously promised reforms in exchange for receiving nearly 200 billion euros (about 275 trillion won) of aid from the EU in the form of loans and subsidies to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Meloni wants to reconsider the reform, saying that the current energy crisis has changed the situation.
photo source, Archyde.com
On the night of the 25th, there was a gloomy atmosphere in the camp of the Democratic Party (PD) led by Enrico Letta.
Meanwhile, the head of the political bureau, Balaz Orban, a longtime close aide to Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, quickly congratulated the Italian right-wing party on victory, saying, “We need comrades with a common vision and approach to the challenges facing Europe more than ever.”
In France, MP Jordan Badella, the leader of the far-right National Union (RN) party, said that Italian voters had taught European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a lesson in humility. Earlier, Commissioner von der Leyen said that Europe had “means” to respond if Italy went “in a difficult direction”.
However, Professor Gianluca Pasarelli of Sapienza University in Italy said in an interview with the BBC that “a lot of policies that restrict the rights of LGBT people and immigrants will be implemented.” He said he would focus.
For example, Salvini, the leader of the Lega party, who had implemented anti-refugee policies during his past as interior minister, is likely to hope to become interior minister again to prevent refugee ships from entering the port through Libya.
Meanwhile, in Italy, due to the constitutional amendment in 2020, the total number of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has been reduced to 600 seats, about a third of that of the past, which seems to have worked in favor of the right-wing coalition.
Italian public broadcaster Rai announced that the exit poll showed that the three right-wing coalition parties would win 227 to 257 seats out of 400 in the House of Representatives and 111 to 131 in the Senate. In response, Salvini mentioned that the right-wing coalition in both houses seemed to have definitely won.
Also, as a result of the investigation, the center-left coalition is expected to occupy only 78-98 seats in the House of Representatives and 33-53 seats in the Senate.