CNN
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The leader of the Italian Brotherhood, Giorgia Meloni, has announced her victory in the general election, which appears to make her Italy’s first female prime minister, leading the most far-right since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini. government.
Speaking to the media and supporters early Monday morning, Meloni thanked her supporters and said it was “a night of pride and redemption for many.”
“This is a victory that I want to dedicate to all those who are no longer with us and want tonight,” she said. “From tomorrow we have to show our worth… The Italians chose We, we’re not going to betray it because we never did,” she said.
Preliminary results suggest a coalition of far-right parties, led by Meloni’s Italian Brotherhood, is on track to win at least 44 percent of the vote, according to Italy’s interior ministry.
With 63% of the votes counted, the ultra-conservative Italian Brotherhood Party won at least 26%, the Coalition of Coalition Partners led by Matteo Salvini about 9% and Silvio Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia received more than 8 percent of the vote. Final results are expected later on Monday, but the formation of a new government is expected to take several weeks.
Meloni’s Italian Brotherhood – Origins in Post-War Fascism – Its popularity has risen astronomically in recent years, winning just 4.5 percent of the vote in the last election in 2018.
The party’s popularity underscores Italy’s longstanding rejection of mainstream politics, most recently the country’s support for anti-establishment parties such as the Five Star Movement and Salvini’s coalition.
“The centre-right has a clear advantage in both the House and Senate! It’s going to be a long night, but now I want to say thank you,” Salvini tweeted as he celebrated the preliminary results on Sunday night.
Meloni, a 45-year-old mother from Rome, campaigned under the slogan “God, Country and Family” to lead a party with an agenda rooted in Euroscepticism, anti-immigration policies, and one that also proposes reducing LGBTQ and party rights to abortion.
Preliminary results show the centre-left coalition, led by left-wing Democrats and centrist parties + Europe, has won at least 26% of the vote, while former prime minister Giuseppe Conte’s efforts to revive the Five Star Movement appear to have been unsuccessful, about 15%.
Democrats conceded defeat Monday morning, calling the result a “sad night for the nation.”
“There is no doubt that, given the data we have seen so far, we cannot fail to attribute the victory to the right wing dragged by Giorgia Meloni. This is a sad night for this country,” the Democrat said. Deborah Serakiani told reporters.
Sunday’s snap national elections were sparked by infighting within the party that led to the collapse of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government in July.
Voters go to polling places to cast their ballots, and voting time is also limited to one day instead of two, in a series of new rules.
Other changes include a lower voting age in the Senate and fewer electoral seats – from 685 to 400 in the Senate and from 315 to 200 in the lower house of parliament. The parliament is scheduled to meet on October 13, when the head of state will call on party leaders to decide on the formation of a new government.
Preparations ahead of the election have been dominated by hot-button issues, including Italy’s cost of living crisis, a 209 billion euro package from the European Covid-19 Recovery Fund and the country’s support for Ukraine.
Unlike the two, however, Meloni differs from coalition partner leaders Berlusconi and Salvini on a number of issues, including Ukraine, and has no ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has said They are willing to scrutinize sanctions against Russia because of their impact on the Italian economy. Instead, Meloni is a staunch supporter of defending Ukraine.
The incoming prime minister – sixth in just eight years – will be tasked with tackling these challenges, with soaring energy costs and economic uncertainty among the country’s most pressing issues.
While Meloni will be Italy’s first female prime minister, her political stance does not mean she is necessarily interested in promoting women’s rights.
Emiliana De Blasio, a diversity and inclusion consultant at Luis University in Rome, told CNN that Meloni “is simply not asking all the questions about women’s rights and empowerment.”
Sunday’s results come as other far-right parties in other European countries have also made notable recent gains, including the rise of Sweden’s anti-immigration party, and the Sweden Democrats – a party with neo-Nazi roots – expected to take the lead in the neo-Nazi party. play an important role in. The government secured the second-largest seat after winning the second-largest seat in the general election earlier this month.
In France, although far-right ideologue Marine Le Pen lost to Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election in April, her share of the popular vote The political center of France has turned sharply to the right.
In a social media post earlier Monday, Meloni dedicated her projected victory to “all the militants, managers, supporters and everyone who has contributed to the realization of our dreams over the years, spontaneously and selflessly. Dedicated soul and heart.”
She added: “We will not betray your trust. We are ready to cheer Italy up.”