After 19 months of technical Government of mario draghi and barely a month of electoral campaign, Italy, the third largest economy in the Eurozone will continue to be the focus of all eyes this Monday. Election day on Sunday in this founding member country of the European Union it blurs scenarios that are difficult to foresee. The far-right and eurosceptic party Brothers from Italy he won the parliamentary elections, according to exit polls from three opinion polls. In parallel, its partners in the League and of forza italy, which although they would have fallen compared to 2018, would have achieved a sufficient result to form a new Government together with the Brothers of Italy, if the polls are confirmed. Between the three parties they would have obtained between 41% and 45% of the votes.
The final results will be announced from this Monday. When this happens, attention will be focused in particular on the consensus obtained by the winning coalition in the Senate, the chamber of Parliament in which, due to Italian electoral law, it is more difficult to have a large majority. It will also be important to confirm that the winners have obtained two thirds of the seats, something that would allow them to pass laws more quickly and, eventually, also modify the Italian Constitution.
Thus ended a day that many Italians did not experience with a light heart. In Rome and other large cities in the center and north of the country, dozens of people patiently waited for their turn to exercise their right. “Rarely have I felt elections as transcendental,” summed up Virgina, a 41-year-old set designer. “Today I will drive about four hours to vote, since I am a resident of another region. But I have to do it,” she argued, unraveling the thousand reasons behind her concern about Meloni’s progress.
She wasn’t the only one who reasoned this way. The idea was repeated in almost all those interviewed by this newspaper, including the voters who said they preferred the opposite side. “Are very important electionsLet’s see if something changes after so many years with the same as always”, explained another citizen, revealing a vote more inclined to the right. In Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the center-right Forza Italia, was even surprised by the situation. “It is the first time that I see queues to go to vote. I have never seen something like this in other years,” said the politician, when exercising his right in this important Italian city.
The rain makes it difficult to vote
So much so that at noon the influx to the polling stations disoriented analysts by reaching 19.2%, just 0.2% less than in the previous elections of 2018. It did not last long. Already in the afternoon the rural vote —in particular, that of the most depopulated Italy— and from the south reversed the trend. Torrential rains and even floods hampered voting operations in many towns in southern Italy and also on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. It was the signal that ratified the bill between the two Italys. At the end of the day, the participation was finally 64%, ten points less than in the previous elections of 2018.
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The situation did not prevent a part of the country from being distracted by Meloni, who, as if it were a tragicomedy, decided that it was also the appropriate day to publish a video of her with two melons at breast height, saying “September 25, and I’ve said it all”. A bad joke that, in addition, was added to a statement that revealed how confident the far-right felt before the closing of the polls. “Lose? It’s not the day,” the leader of the Brothers of Italy said. Salvini, perhaps not to be left behind, went even further. “I already have in mind (how it will be) the Government”, affirmed the leader of the League.
The voice outside the choir It was, paradoxically, Silvio Berlusconi, the third coalition partner. “Salvini needs to be put in his place a bit. He has never worked,” complained the elderly politician. According to his, it will be him the only one who can moderate the extremist discourse of its allies, with the support of the European People’s Party (EPP), also when negotiating with Brussels. Despite the antibodies that Italy has -which it does have-, it will not be an easy mission. voxthe extremist party of Santiago Abascal, has already invited Meloni to visit Madrid next October 9 for its great annual party.