Italy election: far-right Brothers of Italy on course to win most votes; Russia ready for ‘constructive relations’ with party – live

Near-final results show Brothers of Italy have won the most votes

Near-final results give a party with neo-fascist roots, the Brothers of Italy, the most votes in Italy‘s national elections.

The results showed the centre-right coalition netting some 44% of the parliamentary vote, with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy taking about 26%. Her coalition partners divided up the remainder, with the anti-immigrant League of Matteo Salvini winning nearly 9% and the more moderate Forza Italia of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi taking around 8%.

Full results here:

Key events

Helena Smith

Helena Smith

In neighbouring Greece, the far right victory has been labelled “a huge shock” for Europe by leftists, writes Helena Smith in Athens:

In a statement decrying Italy’s electoral result, Syriza, the party that was once the face of the radical left in Europe, described the ascent of the far right as a turning back to some of the darkest days the continent had experienced in the 20th century.

Progressive forces had also played a role, it said, by failing to set aside their differences and “provide answers” to an ever-worsening cost of living crisis.

“The results of the Italian election amount to a huge shock for Europe and its democratic traditions,” said the statement released by Syriza, now the country’s main opposition party, on Monday.

“It is obvious that this development is not a bolt out of the blue. It is a consequence of inequalities broadening and the collapse of social cohesion as a result of neoliberal choices by conservative or technocratic governments in combination with the inability of the wider left to give persuasive answers to the insecurity and fear of working classes. And where fear and insecurity prevails usually xenophobia, nationalism and far right populism blooms.”

The electoral outcome should be a wake-up call to all democratic citizens, the party insisted, calling on progressive forces to properly digest the results so that far right populism did not become an “alternative solution” in Greece when general elections are held next year.

Sam Jones

News that a coalition led by the Brothers of Italy is poised to win power in Italy has prompted praise from other European far-right parties, warnings from political moderates – and an expression of profound alarm from the leading Italian writer Roberto Saviano.

With full results from the election due later on Monday, projections based on a partial vote count showed Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist party appeared well positioned to give Italy its first far-right-led government since the second world war.

Far-right Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, used the results of the Italian election to criticise the EU sanctions against Russia, saying they had driven up energy prices. He said the sanctions had “backfired”, adding that angry voters were ousting governments in Europe as a result.

The rightwing Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, extended his congratulations to Meloni in a tweet.

In France, Jordan Bardella, of the far-right National Rally, said Italian voters had given European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, a lesson in humility. Von der Leyen had earlier said Europe had “the tools” to respond if Italy went in a “difficult direction”.

Bardella wrote: “The peoples of Europe raise their heads and take their destiny into their own hands.”

Antony Blinken: US eager to work with Italy on shared goal of ‘human rights’

Quite a diplomatic response from the US Secretary of State, but the mention of “human rights” will be seen as as a caution to the Italian far right.

Following yesterday’s Italian elections, 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. Italy is a vital ally, strong democracy, and valued partner.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 26, 2022

The US far right is awake now, and digesting the news with glee:

Tom Phillips

Tom Phillips

The politician son of Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has added his voice to the celebration of Giorgia Meloni’s election victory.

“Italy’s new prime minister is God, fatherland and family,” congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro tweeted – the same slogan as his populist father.

Eduardo Bolsonaro rejected claims that Meloni represented “far-right fascism”. “If she was from the left, the headline[s] would say: “THE FIRST WOMAN TO GOVERN ITALY.”

Russia says ready for ‘constructive relations’ with Italy

Angela Giuffrida

The Kremlin has said it is hoping for “more constructive” parties to rule Italy after the centre-right victory in Sunday’s general election.

“We are ready to welcome any political force able to show itself more constructive in relations with Russia,” said the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, according to the Tass news agency.

On Friday, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s three-time former prime minister, whose Forza Italia is forecast to return to government, sparked a row after defending Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

The 85-year-old billionaire told Italian TV that Russia’s president, an old friend of his, was pushed to invade Ukraine by the Russian people.

Lorenzo Tondo

Lorenzo Tondo

Italy’s new rightwing government should implement pragmatic policies, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, has said.

We hope that the new Italian government will continue to adhere to a positive and pragmatic policy towards China, supporting the spirit of mutual respect and trust.

On Friday, Meloni told Taiwanese news agency CNA that she would ‘’pull out of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’’ if she were prime minister. She previously described as “unacceptable” China’s threats against the island, which it claims is part of its territory.

Some pictures from Italy today:

Far-right party Brothers of Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media at her party’s electoral headquarters in Rome.
Far-right party Brothers of Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media at her party’s electoral headquarters in Rome. Photograph: Future Publishing/Getty Images
A cameraman’s monitor shows the leader of Italian centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Enrico Letta, as he delivers an address on Monday.
A camera operator’s monitor shows the leader of Italian centre-left Democratic party (PD), Enrico Letta, as he delivers an address on Monday. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images
People walk past Chigi Palace, the prime minister’s office in Rome, a day after the snap election.
People walk past Chigi Palace, the prime minister’s office in Rome, a day after the snap election. Photograph: Yara Nardi/Reuters

Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini expressed disappointment on Monday at his party’s rout in general elections but said he would work with ally Giorgia Meloni to form a long-lasting, stable government, AFP reports:

The result ‘is not a number I wanted I worked for. But we are at 9% in a rightwing government in which we are protagonists,” the leader of the anti-immigration League told reporters.

He added: ‘Around 4:00 am I messaged Giorgia, who obviously I congratulate. She was good, we will work together for a long time.’

The Eurosceptic League swept to office with 17% of the vote in 2018, but since then has been eclipsed by Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy.

A glum Salvini said Meloni had benefited from being the only party leader to stay outside the coalition formed by the prime minister Mario Draghi in February 2021.

“Brothers of Italy was good at being a strong opposition,” he said.

For the League, being part of that administration “was not easy”, he said, but insisted: “I would do it again.”

Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union have backfired, leading to increasing energy prices, Hungary’s prime minister has said.

Criticising the action taken by the west, Viktor Orbn said it was no surprise governments across Europe were falling apart – referring in particular in Italy.

Angela Giuffrida

More analysis from our Rome correspondent, Angela Giuffrida:

Giorgia Meloni declared that now was “the time for responsibility” during her victory speech last night, but a serious, stable government could be difficult to achieve given her ally Matteo Salvini’s past track record of collapsing governments and his League party’s dismal performance in the elections.

Support for the League has plummeted to less than 9%, a shocking result for a party that polled at almost 40% in 2019, and one that shifts the balance of power in a coalition, leaving Meloni calling all the shots, much to Salvini’s chagrin, who throughout the election campaign was still positioning himself as prime minister.

In an interview with the Guardian last November, he said he would let voters decide who should lead the government should the coalition win the next election. “I’m not for pink quotas, green quotas or female quotas, what interests me is that [the candidate] is good, man or woman,” he said.

Salvini is a political chameleon who is unlikely to handle Meloni’s rise to power so easily, and poses one of the biggest threats to the stability of her government. Given his party’s performance, what role he’ll take remains uncertain. He wants to return to the interior ministry, a position he held between 2018-2019, a short stint but enough to cause havoc for Italy’s immigrants. President Sergio Mattarella has reportedly signalled that he doesn’t want the interior ministry to go to Salvini again, so this could well be Meloni’s first challenge as she builds a cabinet.

Enrico Letta, leader of Italy‘s centre-left Democratic Party, to step down

Lorenzo Tondo

Lorenzo Tondo

Enrico Letta, the leader of Italy‘s centre-left Democratic party (PD), plans to step down after defeat in the national election.

Letta told a news conference on Monday that he would stay on for the time being but not stand for the leadership at the next party congress, which will be held in the near future.

He described the election victory for a rightwing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni as a “sad day for Italy and Europe”.

Leader of Italian centre-left Democratic party (PD), Enrico Letta gestures as he delivers an address on 26 September at the party’s headquarters in Rome.
Leader of Italian centre-left Democratic party (PD), Enrico Letta gestures as he delivers an address on 26 September at the party’s headquarters in Rome. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

Lorenzo Tondo

Lorenzo Tondo

Giorgia Meloni’s new government should “stay united” with the rest of the EU on the war in Ukraine and the resultant energy shock, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary-General Mathias Cormann has said.

“We await the formation of the new government. When we have a new government in Italy we will be happy to work with them to have policies aimed at a better life,” Cormann said in answering a question from Italian news agency ANSA on his message to the next government in Rome.

“In the current context it is good to have strong longterm solidarity in Europe,” he said. Meloni has spoken out strongly in support of the Wwstern line on Ukraine on a number of occasions. However, both her coalition’s partners, the League and Forza Italia, had close ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin before the invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s three-time former prime minister and leader of Forza Italia, sparked a row after defending the Russian president over the war in Ukraine.

The 85-year-old billionaire told Italian TV that Putin, an old friend of his, was pushed to invade Ukraine by the Russian people and by ministers who wanted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration replaced with “decent people”.

The far-right League leader, Matteo Salvini, has also nurtured ties with Russia, heaped praise on Putin in the past and criticised the economic sanctions against the country over its war in Ukraine for “bringing Italy to its knees”.

source: theguardian.com