The leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party seems certain of victory.
(Photo: dpa)
Rom According to initial forecasts, an alliance around the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party has won the parliamentary elections in Italy. The alliance, which also includes Matteo Salvini’s right-wing Lega and ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia party, is likely to take more than half of the seats in parliament, broadcasters Rai and SkyTG24 agreed late Sunday evening reported. The data is still based on post-election surveys, the polling stations were open until 11 p.m. The first projections are expected during the night, the official final result on Monday morning.
However, the gap between Fratelli d’Italia (FDI) and the second-placed Social Democrats (PD) is so great at around five percentage points that victory can hardly be stolen from FDI founder Giorgia Meloni. As the head of the strongest party, the 45-year-old could lead the future government as Italy’s first female prime minister.
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More than 50 million Italians were called to vote on Sunday. The turnout was historically low, forecasts put it at around 65 percent. The right-wing bloc had already entered the election as the clear favorite and, according to the forecasts, received 41 to 45 percent of the votes. Due to a special feature of Italian electoral law, this should still be enough for a majority of the mandates.
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According to the first forecasts, the right-wing alliance will have 115 of the 200 seats in the Senate. A centre-right majority is also expected in the larger Chamber of Deputies, with talk of at least 227 of the 400 seats.
The centre-left parties are fragmented
The left and center parties did not stand united against the right-wing alliance in the election campaign. Center-left, the alliance of social democrats, left-wing parties and the Greens, came to 25.5 to 29.5 percent, according to forecasts. The left-wing Five Star Movement landed between 13.5 and 17.5 percent of the vote. The central alliance lagged behind at 6.5 to 8.5 percent.
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Melonis Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) were the only significant opposition to the “Coalition of National Unity” led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. In the last parliamentary election in 2018, the radicals got just over four percent. The party represents nationalist, EU-critical and sometimes racist positions. The party, which was founded in 2012, has a flame in its national colors in its logo, which is intended to commemorate the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. In Europe, many partners had looked with concern at a possible victory for the right.
According to plan, a new parliament should not be elected until the beginning of 2023. Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, was appointed to head the government in early 2021. The Five Star Movement voted no confidence in Draghi on a proposed law in July, after which he resigned. However, Draghi will remain in office until a new government is sworn in – which can take several weeks.
With agency material
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