Meloni is emerging as Prime Minister of Italy

Sep. 26 () –

The leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, Giorgia Meloni, is emerging as the country’s prime minister, after provisional results confirm that she is the most voted candidate on Sunday’s election day.

With more than 90 percent of the ballots counted –both for the Senate and for the Congress of Deputies–, the FdI has obtained 26.5 percent of the votes; followed by the Democratic Party, led by Enrico Letta, with 19.4 percent; and Giuseppe Conte’s 5 Star Movement, in third place with 14.8 percent of voters.

Matteo Salvini’s La Liga reportedly got 9 percent and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia 8 percent. However, neither of the two have valued the electoral results for the moment.

The right-wing bloc — made up of Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi — would achieve an absolute majority in both chambers, with 44 percent, compared to 26 percent for the center-left. When the final data is published, Meloni will have to meet with her coalition partners to reach an agreement that allows her to become the country’s prime minister.

The president of FdI has asked in an institutional statement on Sunday night the direction of the next Italian government. “A clear indication has come from the Italians of a center-right government led by the Brothers of Italy,” she told supporters at the Hotel Parco dei Principe in Rome.

In the event that Meloni obtains the support of his partners, he must also overcome the filter of the President of the Republic, who can veto ministers if he considers that they are not suitable for the position.

The Democratic Party has obtained second place, but the majority of the right-wing bloc places it as the opposition. Its leader has not made a public statement after the vote, while he is expected to appear before the cameras at noon on Monday. The PD spokeswoman in Parliament is the only one who has given explanations, by acknowledging the electoral defeat.

The M5S has blamed the PD for the lack of unity in the left bloc. His candidate, Conte, has affirmed that his party will make a progressive and democratic opposition and has celebrated his position, since the polls pointed to the disappearance of the formation.

Civic Commitment leader Luigi Di Maio, who is currently the country’s acting foreign minister but who has stood for election in a new party after leaving M5S, has been left out of the Italian Parliament. His M5S opponent, Sergio Costa, has defeated him in his seat for Napoli. Furthermore, his party would have gotten less than 1 percent of the ballots.

Abstention has marked these elections, since the country has registered the lowest number of participation since the democratic system was established. Only 63.91 percent have gone to the polls, while in 2018 73 percent was reached, a difference of nine percentage points.

The ultra-right representatives of European countries have celebrated the result, such as the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki; the MEP of the Marine Lepen party Jordan Bardella; the political adviser of the Hungarian Viktor Orbán; Frenchman Eric Zemmour; the vice president of the German AfD party, BEatrix von Storch; or Santiago Abascal.