Italians head to polls likely to elect most Right-wing government since Mussolini
Millions of Italians are headed to the polls in a landmark general election which is expected to result in the country’s most Right-wing government since Mussolini.
Polls suggest that the election will be won by a Right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni, the head of the Brothers of Italy party, which traces its roots back to the post-war fascist movement.
She has benefited from the fact that hers was the only party not to be a part of the outgoing coalition led by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, which collapsed in the summer.
More than 50 million Italians are eligible to vote on Sunday, including nearly five million abroad, reflecting a large diaspora in places like Australia and the Americas, to where generations of Italians emigrated.
Voting started at 7am Italy time and will finish at 11pm, after which the first exit polls will give some indication of how parties have performed.
For 2.6 million young Italians, it will be the first time they have voted.
The campaign has been dominated by debate over the energy crisis, the rising cost of living, the spending of 200 billion euros of post-pandemic funds from the EU and, to a lesser extent, the war in Ukraine.
Despite Italy having sweltered through one of the hottest summers on record, which led to the worst drought in decades and huge losses in agricultural production, climate change and environmental issues have barely featured.
The Right-wing alliance, which also includes Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party and the hard-Right, anti-immigration League led by Matteo Salvini, is tipped to win around 45 per cent of the vote.
Due to a complex, mixed voting system incorporating first-past-the-post and proportional representation, the alliance could secure 60 per cent of seats in parliament.
Mr Berlusconi made a last-minute gaffe on Thursday night when he claimed that Vladimir Putin was forced to invade Ukraine by Russian politicians and public opinion and that he had just wanted to install some “decent people” in Kyiv in an operation lasting a couple of weeks.
