At the top of the poll is the Union of the Right, supported by the national conservative party. Their leader would become the next President of the Italian Council.
Special Envoy for Rome,
Giorgia Meloni won her bet. His national-conservative Fratelli d’Italia party, which according to partial results received more than 26% of the vote and far outperformed its main rivals, won the parliamentary elections by a wide margin. At the head of a right-wing coalition with Matteo Salvini’s Liga and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, he looks certain to dominate the next parliament. As for its Chair, here at 45 she is poised to become the first female President of the Council. His victory, which was immediately celebrated by various populist and far-right parties in Europe, is undoubtedly a historic turning point. Indeed, following the recent breakthrough in the Swedish Democrat elections, it is the first time since the beginning of European construction that a formation on the far right, in this case from the post-fascist galaxy, is preparing to come to power in one of its six founding countries.
“For many of us, it is a night of pride, redemption, tears, dreams and memories,” Giorgia Meloni told the press and his staff gathered at a hotel in central Rome around 2.30am. With the results unequivocal, she vowed to govern “for all Italians” despite the tone of a campaign described as “violent and aggressive”. “[Ils] sent a clear message in support of a right-wing government led by Fratelli d’Italia,” she said. On Facebook, she vowed: “We will not betray your trust. We are ready to uplift Italy.”
Enrico Letta’s Democratic Party (centre left), which finished in second place but fell to less than 20%, suffered defeat. Its Vice President Debora Seracchiani evokes “a sad evening for Italy”. The other parties are far behind and the Fratelli d’Italia partners are achieving results that have undoubtedly disappointed them. Matteo Salvini’s League, which won 17% of the vote in the 2018 general election and 34% in the European elections the following year, collapsed this time with just 9% of the vote. Silvio Berlusconi’s party scores only slightly worse (8%). Both undoubtedly pay for their involvement in the executive led by Mario Draghi. Only Giuseppe Conte’s Five Star Movement manages to limit the damage in this respect, receiving 15% of the vote – twice less than in 2018.
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Besides surprise, the President of the Republic, Sergio Matarella, should propose Giorgia Meloni in the coming weeks to form a government. Formal negotiations will then begin between the four parties in the right-wing coalition (Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Forza Italia and Noi Moderati) on the distribution of key ministries. Italian observers estimate that the new board could take office by the end of October.
Giorgia Meloni, who began her political rise within the Italian Social Movement, a party founded on the rubble of fascism in 1946 to keep the flame alive, has sought to present a calming face throughout the election campaign. She swore that those nostalgic for Benito Mussolini have no place by his side and condemned the darkest hours of his regime. That his party is mainly led by veterans of this movement raises doubts. However, these sulphurous origins do not seem to have harmed it. “The Italians, who are convinced that this period is a thing of the past, do not care whether it is fascist or not,” noted French historian Marc Lazar, head of the School of Government at Luiss University, on the eve of the election in Rome. . Even his opponent from the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, understood that it was pointless to attack him for this reason.
During this brief campaign against the backdrop of war and the energy crisis, the leader of the Fratelli d’Italia tried to reassure European capitals by dampening her attacks on the Brussels bureaucracy and unequivocally condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine. But she also promised, sometimes in a very harsh tone, to do better to fight immigration and insecurity and to defend family values. “Yes to natural family, no to LGBT lobbies! Yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death! Yes to the universality of the cross, no to Islamist violence! Yes to our civilization and no to those who want to destroy it!” she announced in June, in particular to supporters of the far-right Spanish party Vox.
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More than their ideological stance, however, the Fratelli d’Italia owe their victory to the strong wind of “dégagisme” sweeping across the country. Giorgia Meloni’s formation, whose supporters particularly welcome “coherence”, benefits from remaining in opposition when the other parties decided to back the Draghi government. With the center of Matteo Renzi, the Liga of Matteo Salvini and the Five Star Movement of Giuseppe Conte, Italy has seen a string of electoral breakthroughs in recent years, followed by just as many dizzying falls. Giorgia Meloni has promised to rule for five years.