Giorgia Meloni’s radical right-wing Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) is heading for victory in the Italian parliamentary elections. According to the first exit poll Late Sunday night from the ANSA news agency, Meloni’s party won 22 to 26 percent of the vote.
The right-wing allies Lega of former minister Matteo Salvini and Forza Italia of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi received 8.5 to 12.5 percent and 6 to 8 percent of the vote respectively. There is a good chance that Meloni will become Italy’s first female prime minister.
The center-left Democratic party gets 17 to 21 percent of the vote and the populist Five Star Movement 13.5 to 17.5 percent, according to the exit poll.
Also read: What if the radical right alliance of Salvini, Berlusconi and Meloni win the Italian elections?
Fratelli d’Italia won just four percent of the vote in the previous parliamentary election in 2018, but the party with fascist roots led the most visible opposition under Meloni by staying outside the national unity government of Mario Draghi.
Big Challenges
The new government to be formed faces major challenges because, like the rest of the European Union, Italy is struggling with skyrocketing inflation and an energy crisis and is threatening a recession.
On Sunday, the Italians opted for a smaller parliament than before. Due to a constitutional amendment, the Italian House of Representatives is shrinking from 630 to 400 members of parliament, and in the future there will be room for 200 instead of 315 senators.
Also read: Italy chooses: “Post-fascists at the helm? The thought gives me chills”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of September 26, 2022