Italy Set to Elect Right-Wing Euroskeptic Prime Minister

Diana Glebova
·2 min read
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A conservative coalition led by Giorgia Meloni is set to win the majority of seats in Italy, securing the most conservative government since World War II, and setting up the Brothers of Italy Party leader to be the country’s first female prime minister.

Local exit polls showed Meloni’s conservative coalition won between 41 and 45 percent, giving them the clear majority in both parliamentary houses, Reuters reported. Brothers of Italy garnered the largest share of the vote, coming in at 26 percent.

Meloni has expressed more support for Ukraine compared to other conservative leaders in Italy, and has pushed back against the left-wing LGBT agenda and the European Union. She also rallied behind the need for family in a recent speech, saying there are those that are trying to destroy the gender, family, religious, and national identity of the Italian people so they can be “perfect consumer slaves.”

“I can’t define myself as Italian, Christian, woman, mother. No. I must be citizen x, gender x, parent one, parent two. I must be a number,” she said. arguing that once the government destroys people’s closely held identities, they will be the “perfect slave at the mercy of financial speculators.”

Liberals have sounded the alarm about the alleged neo-fascist origins of Brothers of Italy, and her potential danger to the European Union.

She has vehemently denied ties to fascism, condemned countries that are led by Communists, and has likened the Brothers of Italy Party to the British Tories.

Italian president Sergio Mattarella will meet with party leaders once the results are confirmed to determine who can lead a successful coalition, and Meloni is likely to argue that she’s the best candidate, given her support. The new prime minister may not be installed for weeks.

Italy’s snap election comes due to the government crisis that began in July, commencing after the leader of the Conservative Five Star Movement Giuseppe Conte withdrew his vote of confidence for the national unity government over an economic stimulus bill.

Europe has surged with a growing support of conservative candidates like Marie Le Pen of France, who won 41 percent of the vote against French president Emmanuel Macron, as well as the rise of the Sweden Democrats Party in Sweden and the Vox Party in Spain.

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