The Italians began to vote this Sunday, September 25 in the morning to elect their new parliament and the future prime minister; a vote that -except for last minute surprises- will see the extreme right win. While more than 50 million voters were expected to cast their ballots, long queues formed outside polling stations in many parts of the country. Some voters arrived even before the polls opened at 7 a.m.
Legislative elections where the extreme right starts as the favorite to win the parliamentary majority and, later, the position of prime minister and the government.
The vote to determine the composition of the future Italian Parliament will end around 11:00 p.m. (local time) while the first polls will give an indication of the results.
The leader of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, Giorgia Meloni, 45, could win almost a quarter of the vote in the latest polls. She and her party are the favorites to lead a coalition government in which the extreme right would largely dominate the classical right.
The future configuration of this Italian government worries not only some sectors of this founding country of Europe and the third largest economy in the euro zone, but also in the European Union.
“In Europe, everyone is worried about seeing Meloni in government (…). The party is over, Italy will begin to defend its national interests,” warned the favorite candidate during her campaign.
This former admirer of Mussolini, whose motto is “God, country, family”, has managed to convert the image of her party and catalyze the discontent and frustrations of her compatriots, camping in the opposition while all other parties supported the unity government. national Mario Draghi.
Ultra-conservative and anti-immigrant
If Giorgia Meloni has given up leaving the euro zone, she nevertheless continues to ask for the Stability Pact rules to be reviewed, suspended due to the health crisis and which sets a ceiling of 3% of GDP for the deficit and 60% for the debt.
According to observers, in a post-Covid-19 recovery context, Italy cannot afford to deprive itself of money coming from Europe, which would make Meloni’s room for maneuver limited. But he could continue his fight against Brussels, along with Warsaw and Budapest in particular, on issues such as defending the national interest.
On social issues, Meloni, a native of Rome, is ultra-conservative. “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby! Yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology. Yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death,” he proclaimed in June, also promising to fight ” against the Islamization of Europe”.
His coming to power is also worrying because it would mean a closure of the country, where tens of thousands of immigrants arrive every year, especially from Africa. But although the governmental instability of Italy is well known, the experts already agree on the short life expectancy of this coalition, in which Meloni would have many challenges.
The key role of the undecided
His ally Matteo Salvini, head of the Northern League, a far-right anti-immigration movement, told reporters on the way to vote that he was “playing to win, not to participate.” He stated that he saw his party “on the podium: first, second, worst case third” after the vote.
“I am looking forward to returning to the Government of this extraordinary country starting tomorrow,” added Salvini, who was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior in the first Government of Giuseppe Conte between 2018 and 2019. The President of the Republic also voted in the morning, Sergio Mattarella, and Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party (PD, center-left).
Emiliana De Blasio, professor of sociology at the Luiss University in Rome, analyzed for the AFP news agency that the result of the elections is not inevitable.
“Unpredictable, elections are played out in emotion and at the last moment,” he said, highlighting the key role of undecided voters, estimated at around 20%, and the importance of final turnout.
The scores of the 5 Star Movement (M5S, previously anti-system), with its credit for the institution of a minimum income for the poorest, and of the Democratic Party (PD, left), well established at the local level, could give surprises, especially in the south of the country.
Whichever government emerges from the elections, its path will be marked by immense challenges. It will have to face the crisis caused by rising prices, while Italy’s debt stands at 150% of GDP, the highest ratio in the eurozone after Greece.
In this context, the European post-pandemic recovery plan, of which Italy is the biggest beneficiary, will be essential to keep the peninsula afloat.
AFP
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