Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party came first in the country’s European Parliament elections, winning 26-30% of the vote, according to a forecast from national public broadcaster Rai .
If confirmed, this would represent an increase of around 20 percentage points compared to the 2019 European elections, placing the party ahead of all others on the left and right of the political spectrum.
The forecast places in second place a left-wing alliance led by the center-left Democratic Party (PD), led by opposition leader Elly Schlein, with 21 to 25% of the votes.
Meloni was the so-called main candidate of the FdI, which has its roots in the Italian post-fascist movement. However, she does not want to take a seat in the European Parliament, preferring to remain in Rome as prime minister.
The 47-year-old has led a coalition of three right-wing parties since October 2022. Sunday’s result is expected to give her considerable influence at European level – including in Ursula von der Leyen’s future as president of the European Commission.
In the 2019 European elections, the FdI, still in opposition, obtained just 6.4% of the votes.
The result expected for Sunday consolidates the power of Meloni’s party as, by far, the strongest member of the right-wing coalition in power. The two smaller partners, Forza Italia – founded by the late former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – and Lega, led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, were expected to gain 8.5-10.5% and 8-10% respectively.
The FdI result, if confirmed, also represents a slight improvement compared to the last national parliamentary elections, when it obtained 26% of the votes.
Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s left-wing populist Five Star movement is expected to reach between 10% and 14%. The Alliance of Greens and the Left reached 5-7%.
There are a total of 47 million eligible voters in Italy, giving the southern European country – one of the founding states of the European Union – 76 seats in the 720-seat European Parliament.
Meloni made it clear during the election campaign that he hopes Italy will receive a prominent position in the future European Commission.
Italy was the last of the 27 EU member states to close its polling stations on Sunday night at 11pm (9pm GMT). Provisional official results are expected on Monday morning.
