Far-right Giorgia Meloni wins Italy, set to become first woman PM

Italy is all set to elect country's far-right conservative leader Giorgia Meloni as the next Prime Minister of the country. Her party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) is projected to have won 26% of the vote, meaning she is on course to become Italy's first female leader too, BBC reported.

The 45 year-old ultra-nationalist leader will also be the sixth PM of Italy within eight years. Meloni's Brothers of Italy will also be the first right wing party to come to power since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini.

The party was co-founded by Meloni in 2012. The party also draws inspiration from Bennito Mussolini and Meloni also admired him in her youth only to distance herself from his idea of fascism. 

How Giorgia Meloni won Italy: 

Leadership: Meloni deserves the credit for transforming the fate of her party in the country. In 2018 elections, her party got only 4.5% of votes. But. within four years, she catapulted her party to relevance. Her uncompromising attitude worked with Italians who found her to be the apt leader to lead the country. When Mario Dragi's National Unity Party came to power in 2018, it was Meloni who kept herself in opposition. In 2021, when Giuseppe Conte's administration fell, she demanded fresh elections. In July 2022, when Draghi's government fell, she demanded fresh elections again.

The conservative ideas of Meloni: Giorgia Meloni also represents a set of conservative Italians who agree with her views. She is anti-LGBT, and under her rule, the same sex unions which were legalised in 2016 might be under review. She is also against abortion and calls abortion a tragedy. Her party, in several regions where it is in power, has seen several restrictions in abortions, including restriciting the national policy that allows clinics to issue abortion pills to women. 

The role of Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berluscon: Meloni's two allies, Matteo Salvini from far right league and Silvio Berluscon from Forza Italia, are also repsonsible for the popularity of Meloni and her party today. In 2008, Berlusconi made her the Sports Minister, which made her the youngest person to hold the position.

In the 2018 alliance, Meloni was a junior partner, but today she is the leader. It is expected that she might also not allow Salvini a position in the cabinet, which might also end his career in politics. She also differs from both of them on number of issues, like Russian invasion of Ukraine and calls the invasion wrong.

Italy's economic condition: Meloni's party Brothers of Italy was also the only option left with the Italians who have seen nearly 67 cabinets in last 76 years. The country was reeling under econonomic slowdown and a rising cost of living. There is also a growing energy crisis in Italy and Meloni in her speeches has said that she would like to revisit the Italian reforms agreed with the EU in return of $200 billion post Covid-recovery grants and loans.