RIGHT NOW: Meloni and the far-right are heading for election victory

Italy The far-right Brothers of Italy are headed for election victory 

 

Of: 

 

Jacob Ruderstam , 

Nora Fernstedt

 

Published: Today 10.35 

 

Updated: Very recently 

 

NEWS 

 

The far-right, led by Giorgia Meloni, is headed for an election victory in Italy. 

 

This is shown by the first polling station surveys. 

 

It thus looks like Italy will have its first female prime minister. 

 

On Sunday, Italians went to the polls. 

 

Shortly after 11 p.m., the first results came from the polling station polls. 

 

There, right-wing nationalist Italy's brothers get between 22-26 percent. 

 

The right-wing parties Brothers of Italy, Lega and Forza Italia together look set to get between 41-45 percent. 

 

Record low voter turnout 

 

Right now, Italy is heading for a historically low voter turnout – even lower than the 2018 election, when it ended at 72.9 percent. 

 

At 7 p.m., turnout was 51.16 percent, according to La Republicca. At the same time in 2018, 58.40 percent had voted. 

 

Several regions in southern Italy are at the bottom: In Calabria, turnout is currently just over 36 percent, in Campania just under 39. 

 

Flashing in melon video 

 

There are many indications that it will be the national conservative Fratelli di Italia (FDI) - the brothers of Italy - who will emerge victorious from the election. 

 

With party leader Giorgia Meloni, 45, at the helm, the party looks set for a rare surge. 

 

In such cases, Meloni becomes historic as Italy's first female prime minister. 

 

 

Giorgia Meloni could become Italy's first female prime minister after Sunday's election. Photo: Domenico Stinellis / AP 

 

In the 2018 election, Italy's brothers won four percent of the vote. According to opinion polls, FDI can get around 24 percent of the votes, reports TT. 

 

Meloni drew attention to election day in her own way on Tiktok. Holding two large melons, she blinks into the camera and says: 

 

- It is September 25. That's all I have to say. 

 

One of the major debates of the election campaign has been about Giorgia Meloni's past. The party has its roots in fascism and as a 19-year-old she expressed her support for the dictator Benito Mussolini. 

 

- He was a good politician, everything he did he did for Italy, she told French reporters according to France24.

 

 

Matteo Salvini, Silvio Berlusconi and Georgia Meloni. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP 

 

Berlusconi's afternoon peak 

 

Together with Matteo Salvini's Lega party and Silvio Berlusconi's ditto Forza Italia, the goal is to create a right-wing government with Meloni as the new prime minister. 

 

In the last attempts to gather votes during the election day, Berlusconi took the opportunity to give a peck to Salvini during the afternoon: 

 

- Salvini is good but he has never worked. 

 

 

Silvio Berlusconi voted on Sunday afternoon - and took the opportunity to send a little dick to his colleague. Photo: AP 

 

Used the slogan of the fascists 

 

During her campaign, Giorgia Meloni has hit back at accusations linking her to Italy's fascist past. 

 

At the same time, she has used the fascist slogan "God, fatherland and family". The party leader has also expressed his displeasure with the "LGBTQ lobby", reports the BBC. 

 

During the election campaign, the party criticized an episode of the children's program Greta Gris in which a polar bear, Penny, has same-sex parents. One of the party's spokespersons called the episode "unacceptable". 

 

- Political correctness strikes again, and it is our children who pay for it, he said. 

 

"Activist in post-fascist politics" 

 

Piero Ignazi, a professor at the University of Bologna and an expert on Italy's Brothers, says the party mixes "post-fascist traditions" with "neoliberal elements". 

 

- Meloni has been an activist in post-fascist politics since his youth, he says. 

 

Among other things, the party stands for tightening migration and protecting Italian companies, according to Politico. They want to lower taxes and want to review the EU's rules for public spending. 

 

The rampant prices of food and energy have been another important issue for the party during the election campaign. 

 

Italy expert Fabio Cristiano, a political scientist at the University of Utrecht, tells TT that he believes the party's focus on energy bills and taxes has benefited them. 

 

 

Giorgia Meloni. Photo: Alessandro Garofalo/AP