ROME — Italy took a sharp turn to the right
Monday after
Giorgia Meloni’s Eurosceptic Populist Party swept to victory in
general elections, putting the one-time Mussolini admirer on course to become
the first woman to lead the country.
اضافة اعلان
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which has
neo-fascist roots, is set to win around 26 percent of the vote in Sunday’s
election, while her wider coalition secured a clear majority in parliament.
With former premier Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo
Salvini’s far-right League, they will now begin forming the most right-wing
government since World War II, a process likely to take weeks.
Meloni’s success represents a seismic change in
Italy — a founding member of the
EU and the eurozone’s third-largest economy —
and for the EU, just weeks after the far-right performed strongly in Sweden’s
elections.
Meloni used her first public statement to emphasize
unity, saying she would govern “for all Italians”.
But the 45-year-old, whose party has never held
office, has huge challenges ahead, from soaring inflation to a looming energy
crisis and the war in Ukraine.
‘Proud, free Europe’
Congratulations flooded in
from Meloni’s European nationalist allies, from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz
Morawiecki to Spain’s far-right party Vox.
“Meloni has shown the way for a proud, free Europe
of sovereign nations,” Vox leader Santiago Abascal tweeted.
But Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares warned
that “populist movements always grow, but it always ends in the same way — in
catastrophe”.
A spokesman for the European Commission said it
hoped for “constructive cooperation” with the new government, a line echoed by
the Kremlin.
“We are eager to work with Italy’s government on our
shared goals: supporting a free and independent Ukraine, respecting human
rights, and building a sustainable economic future,” US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said.
“Italy is a very Europe-friendly country with very
Europe-friendly citizens, and we assume that won’t change,” added a spokesman
for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Meloni and Salvini are strongly Eurosceptic,
although they no longer want Italy to leave the eurozone.
The Brothers of Italy head says Rome must assert its
interests more, and has policies that look set to challenge Brussels on
everything from public spending rules to mass migration.
Her coalition also wants to renegotiate Italy’s part
of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, arguing the almost 200 billion euros
it expects to receive should take into account the energy crisis.
But the funds are tied to a series of reforms only
just begun by outgoing Prime Minister
Mario Draghi, and analysts say she has
limited room for maneuver.
Meloni campaigned on a platform of “God, country and
family”, sparking fears of regression on rights in the Catholic-majority
country.
Berlusconi struck a Europe-friendly note, pledging
the new government would maintain a “European profile” and adding that “good
relations with our historic allies and the big countries of the EU are
essential for Italy’s future”.
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