The Brothers of Italy, a party with post-fascist roots led by Giorgia Meloni, won more than six million votes in four years and were the big winners in the Italian elections, rising from 4.4% in 2018 to 26%. In her victory speech, Meloni, who at age 45 could become the first woman to head the Italian government, pledged to “rule for all”. But it depends on the vote of center-right allies, giving it a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, and the political challenges ahead.
“If we are called to rule the nation, we will do it for all, to unite a people, appreciating what unites and not what divides, giving Italians the pride to wave the Tricolor [a bandeira italiana]he said in his victory speech after elections where voter turnout was the lowest ever, 64%. After praising dictator Benito Mussolini as a teenager, Meloni has distanced himself from his post-fascist past, but there is no doubt that his will is the most right-wing government that Italy has had since World War II.
“Your challenge will be to turn this electoral success into sustainable government leadership”, the head of the Italian Center for Election Studies CISE, Lorenzo De Sio, told AFP. This is given that his two centre-right coalition partners were two of the losers of the night.
Matteo Salvini’s League has not yet reached 9%, almost half of what it had in 2018, when it was the dominant force in the alliance on the right. Forza Italia, by Silvio Berlusconi, surpassed just over 8%, down six percentage points from the last election.
“The right as a whole had practically the same votes as in 2018, about 12 million, as the center left had almost the same 7.5 million,” I said.told DN Goffredo Adinolfi, researcher at ISCTE in Political Science. “But the balance within the centre-right has changed a lot, with the years from Força Italia to the League and now to the Brothers of Italy,” said the Italian, who has lived in Portugal since 2005.
“There is an internal balance that is completely different and it is necessary to see how the parties will react. said Adinolfi. “Because there are major conflicts between the three and Meloni’s leadership is not fully accepted by Berlusconi or Salvini”, remembered. Although the three have signed a coalition agreement, there are also policy differences between the parties that could emerge when they take office.
Then times ahead will not be easy, with predictions of a worsening economic crisis in 2023 and the continuation of the war in Ukraine. According to the researcher, “in the face of a major emergency, an alternative government to the Brothers of Italy could be formed, which some stressed during the campaign that it might be necessary, as it would make Italy more stable.” Although Meloni won, a unity government like Mario Draghi’s is possible without her.
government for five years
Salvini admitted he was not happy with his party’s outcome, but says the League will be “main character” in the new government for five years. And he admitted Meloni’s opposition to Mario Draghi’s government was “fruitful” in the polls. “The Brothers of Italy were good at creating strong opposition and being in government for almost two years was not easy, but given the situation I would do it all over again”said.
Despite the conversation, the former interior minister does not seem willing to give up the party leadership in this scenario. “It is a delicate moment for the League and it is good to take it seriously because it is essential to understand why voters voted differently,” said the governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, one of the names mentioned. succeed Salvini. He only recognizes the need for a “reorganization” in the party, despite the fact that “no one is essential”.
Forza Italia was slightly below the League, but Berlusconi still had a personal victory. At nearly 86 years old (Thursday), he was elected to the Senate – from which he had been disgraced for nearly a decade after being convicted of fraud and stripped of his political rights until 2018. Il Cavaliere or L’Immortale (the Immortal, as he is also known) received 50% of the vote in Monza and wants to be a father figure of sorts to the center-right alliance.
“The strong growth of the Brothers of Italy has not harmed us and the attempt of the self-proclaimed centrists to win our votes has completely failed,” Berlusconi claimed in a video message. The former prime minister was referring to the alliance between Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva and Carlo Calenda’s Ação. They got 7.7%. “Their limited success has come at the expense of the Democratic Party,” to which they both once belonged.
the problems on the left
The main loser was Enrico Letta, the leader of the Democratic Party (PD), who spoke at a press conference about “a sad day for Italy and Europe”, promising a “tough and unyielding” opposition. The PD lost about 800,000 votes but had the same 19% as in 2018, failing to form alliances to confront the center right (whether with centrist parties, Giuseppe Conte’s 5 Star Movement or other smaller parties).
Letta admitted he was responsible for not having broad agreement on the left and has already announced that he will not run for PD leadership again. A position he held again last year when he returned to Italy after exiling himself to Paris after being removed from the government in 2014 by Renzi, then his party colleague. Letta’s idea is to speed up the calendar for a “reflection” congress on “the concept of a new PD that lives up to the spirit of this era, against a right that has never been better.”
The five-star movement, which had received the most votes in 2018, lost about six million voters. But the 15% in Conte’s party, who overthrew Draghi’s government by withdrawing support, turned out better than expected in the polls. “Everyone said we were going to get beat up,” the leader said. “But we are the third largest party [no Parlamento] and we have a great responsibility”he added, saying he was ready to defend the “values and principles” of the Constitution.
Conte warned against any attempt to tamper with what was one of the party’s greatest achievements: the “citizen’s salary,” a sort of minimum income. And he made it clear that no agreement with the PD is possible. “There will be no dialogue with this leadership, but the issue is not personal. The points are political,” he said.
Source: DN
