Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right party Brothers of Italy, a far-right and populist party, is set to become the next Prime Minister of the country. But was the return of Italy’s far-right inevitable?
Once assumed office, Meloni will be the first far-right Prime Minister Italy has witnessed since Benito Mussolini during the early to mid 1900s.
A snap general election was called by the current President, Sergio Mattarella, after the Draghi Government fell and was forced to dissolve it.
The election was held on September 25 with a record low voter turn-out of a mere 63.91%, but despite this, Meloni and her party won 26% of the votes, with her closest rival, the Democratic party, only winning 19.06% of the votes.
Once assuming office, Meloni has very set goals for tax cuts and a harsher stance on immigration, while also wanting to scrap the vital citizens income – a social welfare system for those living in poverty.
Additionally, earlier this year in a speech to Spain’s far-right Vox Party she stated her priorities if she was to win:
“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!”
Furthermore, Meloni has been linked to Fascism, praising Mussolini for being “a good politician, in that everything he did, he did for Italy”, stating he did good things for the country, despite his alliance with Hitler.
She has also expressed opposition to abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia, same-sex marriage laws and families, and has a harsh anti-EU rhetoric, whilst still supporting NATO.
Regarding abortion, Meloni has stated she has no plans to abolish the country’s abortion law, but will seek to limit them. Whether she will uphold this remains unclear, but it doesn’t stop people from being fearful.
However, in order for her to become PM, President Mattarella must nominate her, which will not occur until late October.
Whether she will uphold many of the laws and rights enshrined remains unclear, but one thing is for certain and that is Italy won’t be moving in a more liberal direction, leaving many citizens fearful of their rights. What we do know is that she will form the most far-right government in the country since World War Two.
However, will Italy still have its EU membership and vital human rights in the next few years? Or could the country face its own version of Donald Trump and crumble?
Only time will tell, but what is clear is that the return of Italy’s far-right is on the immediate horizon.
Featured image: Brothers of Italy
BA(Hons) International Politics and Languages
Politics and Music journalist
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