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 Verkiezingskandidaten Italië infographic
Graphic shows profile of contenders and poll of polls.
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POLITIEK

Extreemrechts op weg naar verkiezingszege in Italië

By Duncan Mil

July 29, 2022 - Ultra-right leader Giorgia Meloni could become Italy’s first female prime minister, leading a coalition of her Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi-led Forza Italia.

Meloni repeatedly insists that the Brothers of Italy is not a fascist movement; however, the party’s history dates back to the Italian Social Movement (MSI), founded out of the ashes of World War II defeat in 1946 by supporters of dictator Benito Mussolini.

Born in Garbatella, a working-class area of Rome, Meloni was president of the youth wing of the National Alliance, a party that emerged from MSI. She served as a youth minister in Silvio Berlusconi’s 2008-11 government before founding the Brothers of Italy.

President of the European conservatives and reformists party since September 2020, she has endeavoured to remould Brothers of Italy as a conservative champion of patriotism.

Meloni’s Brothers, unlike other major right-wing parties, remained in opposition throughout the past few years. They capitalized on public discontent over Italy’s long-running problems, including entrenched youth unemployment. Like other far-right European leaders, Meloni rages against the country’s perceived inexorable decline.

“Yes to secure borders! No to mass immigration!” she declared earlier this summer at a rally for Spain’s far-right Vox. “Yes to our civilization! And no to those who want to destroy it!”

A Politico poll of polls puts the Brothers winning around 23 per cent of the vote at the September 25 election, with the League on 14 per cent and Forza Italia on seven per cent. The poll suggests that with a combined vote of 44 per cent, they are on course to form a government, with Meloni becoming the next premier.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 29/07/2022; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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