Giorgia Meloni is moments away from an Italian victory
Giorgia Meloni, the leader of Italy’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, is on course to become the country’s first female prime minister.
It comes off the back of the political bloc winning the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
With nearly all the votes counted, Brothers of Italy have won around 33 per cent of the vote. Meloni’s main rivals have won around 27 per cent each.
These are the centre-right coalition, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the centre-left coalition, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Her victory comes as a right-wing populist wave is sweeping across Europe. Far-right parties have made significant gains in France, Hungary and Poland in recent years.
But the success of Brothers of Italy comes as a surprise to many, considering the party only garnered 4 per cent of the vote just four years ago.
However, their ability to remain unified while other parties collapsed allowed them to take advantage of the situation.
Giorgia Meloni is now the likely prime minister, though it may be some time before she is officially nominated. This is largely due to President Sergio Mattarella’s involvement.
Meloni has worked hard to soften her image in recent years. Her allies hope that this will continue as she takes on a more prominent role in Italian politics.
She has pledged to govern for all Italians and has said her government will not betray voters’ trust.
Rome will be watching closely to see what direction Meloni and her party take the country in the coming months.
