Italy swings dramatically to eurosceptic right with first-ever woman PM

Major blow for Ursula, who will now have “Giorgia on her mind”

Montage © Facts4EU.Org

Giorgia Meloni’s centre-right coalition wins Italy’s House and Senate

Facts4EU.Org summarises what we know so far
and what it means for Brussels and for Brexit Britain

The eurosceptic centre right has won a dramatic victory in Italy’s general election. Not only does this alter the political landscape in the EU, it also delivers Italy’s first-ever woman Prime Minister.

Yesterday Italians went to the polls yet again. The reason this general election is important to Brexit Britain is because the final outcome has resulted in a eurosceptic centre-right Prime Minister leading a coalition government which the apparatchiks in Brussels will simply hate.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Results of the 2022 Italian elections so far, as at 04.00am

Last update: 04.00am, Mon 26 Sept 2022.

[Source: Ministero dell’Interno.]

(Last update: 04.00am, Mon 26 Sept 2022.)

Giorgia Meloni smashes through political and gender barriers in dramatic win

Exit polls and early counting both show a clear victory for Giorgia Meloni, leader of the eurosceptic ‘Brothers of Italy’ party (Fratelli d’Italia). Together with her centre-right coalition partners, La Liga, Forza Italia, and Noi Moderati, Meloni will win both the House and the Senate. She will become Italy’s new Prime Minister – and the first woman ever to hold this position in Italy.

Italian politics is like a tangled bowl of spaghetti. The complications are almost infinite. In this report Facts4EU.Org and the organisation to which we are affiliated, CIBUK.Org, attempt to summarise the latest news for British readers.

The astonishing rise of Georgia Meloni and the Brothers of Italy

In Italy’s last general election in 2018, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party secured only 4.4% of the vote.

In the 2022 election this has jumped more than five times, easily eclipsing the main left-wing opposition party, as well as the parties in her centre-right coalition led by such big names as Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi.

What does this mean for euroscepticism in Italy?

We urge caution: this does not lead to an 'Italext'. Firstly this election was not fought on the EU, but mostly on the economy and other issues. Italy has suffered for the last two decades, following its conversion to the Euro and in particular since the 2008 crash.

When it comes to Giorgia Meloni, she is undoubtedly a eurosceptic but her party has dropped its call to leave the Euro and the European Union. Nevertheless she is backing Poland and Hungary in their fights against Brussels, which says something. She is also firm in her support of NATO and for Ukraine, which is a difference compared with some other EU countries.

Prime Minister Meloni will undoubtedly be a thorn in the Commission’s and Council’s sides, but she will not rock the boat so much as to jeopardise the c. €200bn in EU ‘Recovery Plan’ funding which is expected – and badly needed.

Finally, Italy’s political scene is not for the faint-hearted

To give readers some idea of the complexity of the Italian electoral system, we can do no better than to quote from Il Ministero dell’Interno – Italy’s Home Office who will report the final results :-

“For the Chamber of Deputies (the Lower House), the number of deputies to be elected is 400, eight of which are elected by the Overseas Constituency. Three-eighths of the seats (146 seats) are allocated in the single-members districts by majoritarian system, in which the most voted candidate is proclaimed elected. Except for the one of the Aosta Valley region - which is one single-member district — the remaining 245 seats are allocated nationally in 49 multi-member districts by proportional system.
“For the Senate, the number of senators to be elected is 200, of which 4 by the Overseas Constituency. Three-eighths of the seats (67 seats) are allocated by majoritarian system in single-member districts in which the most voted candidate is declared elected. Except for the single-member districts of those regions electing one single senator (Aosta Valley) and those of Trentino-Alto Adige (which elects 6 senators only by single-member system), the remaining 122 seats are allocated, in each region, in 26 multi-members districts by using the proportional system of whole quotients and highest remainders, among the lists and coalitions of lists that have exceeded the relevant thresholds.”
Ministero dell’Interno

We hope readers have got all of that, as we'll be asking questions later...

Observations

If you thought the UK has had a few government changes recently, try this

The UK now has its 17th Prime Minister since WWII (in Liz Truss).

By contrast, Italy has had 59 Prime Ministers since the end of WWII, 17 of whom have served for less than 12 months and the shortest-serving of whom lasted just 16 days.

Within these leaderships, government coalitions have come and gone, and been reformed after months of negotiations. On average, governments tend to last a little over a year. Italian politics is a complex business.

Giorgia Meloni, the Fratelli d’Italia, and Italy’s future

Over the years we have watched as Fratelli d’Italia (FdI) has grown from being a small party mostly confined to the north of Italy into a wider and stronger party today.

It was seen for some years as being extremist and fascist and is still described in some Italian and other EU media as being ‘far-right’. Almost up until election day some elements of the Italian media were doing their best to smear the party. The reality of the party today is rather different, however.

The FdI are members of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), which is affiliated to the ECR group in the EU Parliament. This makes them mainstream.

Provided these is no post-election falling out between the main coalition parties, then Frau von der Leyen might be in for some additional opposition to the course on which she and the EU Commission are embarked.

We thought perhaps this morning the EU Commission President might enjoy the following recording of the incomparable Ray Charles...

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[ Source: Ministero dell'Interno ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 26 Sept 2022

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Reader Comments 11

1. One eyed king , Monday, September 26, 2022, 08:04:

Conservative majority in Italy, the left will parrot the line of 'far right', as that is how far our indolence has allowed the pendulum to swing. They are the far left, soon to be left, as another warning from history.
The markets cannot hold the pound for too long as they can be manipulated but they hate to miss a rising tide

2. Tim B , Monday, September 26, 2022, 08:17:

Facts4eu. You say Giorgia Meloni and Fratelli d’Italia are still described in some Italian and other EU media as being ‘far-right’, well you missed out the BBC who are also are using this description describing them.
Using this label, is now a common slur that is used for anyone whose policies or statements are not those of the accepted woke ideology of today.
The BBC quoted from her recent speech where she said she was,
"Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology... no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration... no to big international finance... no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!"
If this is what we think ‘far-right’ looks like, then history he’s taught us nothing.

3. Not4EU, London , Monday, September 26, 2022, 13:45:

When the original fascist Mussolini, a communist, and Hitler, a socialist, are implied as 'far-right' as comparisons would indicate and belief in family, Christianity, nationality, self-reliance & two sexes is seen as 'radical extremism', one can see just how far left the Overton Window has been moved by the globalists. Heavens above, there are even people who still believe that the Conservative Party are 'right-wing' or even 'conservative'.
We will see whether the words are translated into actual actions. We have seen the false dawns of the return of sensibility before in other countries. Just look at the faux Conservatives, with enough of a majority to push through what the people demanded but haven't.
Meloni's election encapsulates what the division really is, as did Sweden. There is no left/right divide any more. It is nationalism v globalism, identity v consumer unit, us v them. As seems very common in most countries, outside the urban decay of the metropolises, the people in the rest of the country want a return to sensible, small, self-reliant Govt. Hopefully, she'll be able to withstand the onslaught coming her way unlike those who were voted in before.
Good luck to her. I'll be watching with interest.

4. jon livesey , Monday, September 26, 2022, 14:51:

Of all the stupid things people on the web waste their time on, I think debating political labels deserves some sort of prize. Important things change in Italy this weekend, and it does not matter how you label them.

5. Adam , Monday, September 26, 2022, 14:56:

If Italy has any sense it should seriously consider withdrawal from the EU after the outrageous threats made by the unelected nonentity Ursula Von Der Lyern to cause trouble for an elected Government in Italy, Italy has the EU interfering We have the EU and the elderly old duo Biden and Pelosi trying it on the UK the UK must completely reject any potential Starmer Government for all our sakes

6. jon livesey , Monday, September 26, 2022, 15:34:

5. Adam : I think the smartest move for both the UK and Italy is to keep our heads down until the EU has more problems than it can handle. Things can get a lot worse for the EU, for example when German taxpayers start asking why they have to fund and organization that seems less effective than its individual members. Why pay for Brussels when it's you own tax money that gets the job done in the end? When that happens, the Italians can just walk away with no endless negotiations to worry about.

7. Martin Manifold , Monday, September 26, 2022, 16:27:

The remainer BBC news are more than light on this story

8. Jeanette Amey , Monday, September 26, 2022, 17:36:

Well that's both Sweden and Italy, despite Von de Leyden veiled warnings. It will be nice to see the commission challenged by them.

9. LuxuryBalloon , Monday, September 26, 2022, 18:03:

Not sure how long this government in Italy will last … historically the Italian governments have not last more than a year or two.

10. Fred Dawson , Monday, September 26, 2022, 20:05:

Excellent. Congratulations to Giorgia Meloni, the FDi and to all right-thinking Italians. Change is on the air..Bye Bye EU

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