Turnout fell sharply in Sunday’s legislative elections in Italy, where a conservative coalition dominated by the far right could win an outright majority and bring post-fascist leader Giorgia Meloni to power.
Voting will close at 11 pm The first exit polls will give an overview of the results. Estimates will be completed overnight and final results will be released Monday morning.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the turnout was 50% at 7:00 p.m., eight points less than in the 2018 legislative elections.
The far right largely in the lead
At just 45 years old, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party, which accumulates almost a quarter of the votes in the latest polls, is the favorite to lead a coalition government in which the extreme right widely dominates the classic. Correct.
“Today you can help write history,” he tweeted to his followers on Sunday morning. On TikTok he posted a video where he poses with a melon in each hand that hides his chest, playing on the meaning of his name.
In the event of victory, Giorgia Meloni would become the first Italian “president of the council” and the first post-fascist head of government in a founding country of the European Community.
A government that will not last?
But mass is not said: “unpredictable, elections are played out of emotion and at the last moment”, recalls Emiliana De Blasio, professor of sociology at the Luiss University of Rome, while highlighting the key role of the undecided, dear by about 20%. .
Although the governmental instability of Italy is legendary, the experts already agree on the short life expectancy of this coalition where Meloni will have a lot to do to manage his cumbersome allies, be it the indestructible Silvio Berlusconi or Matteo Salvini.
Source: BFM TV
