Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party won a decisive victory in Italy’s European elections, near-final results showed on Monday – making her one of the few EU leaders to emerge stronger after the vote.
“It’s a resounding result,” Meloni said Monday of the gains made by his Brothers of Italy party despite a historically low turnout of 49.69 percent.
“It’s very important politically and also personally,” she told Rtl radio, noting that in other parts of Europe, governing parties have suffered in the polls.
“Italy is completely going against the trend,” she said.
With more than 99 percent of all votes counted on Monday, Meloni’s post-fascist party won 28.81 percent of the vote – surpassing the 26 percent received in the September 2022 national elections.
Meloni presented the weekend’s European Parliament elections as a referendum on his leadership, asking voters to write “Giorgia” on their ballots.
Speaking on Monday, she said she was “extraordinarily proud” of the result, which came just days before she welcomed G7 leaders to Puglia.
“I am proud that this nation presents itself at the G7 and in Europe with the strongest government of all,” she said.
The result is a notable reversal from the 2019 European elections, when Meloni’s then-marginal party won just 6% of the vote.
On the other hand, it was a difficult night for several other EU leaders, notably Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, who called early legislative elections after his centrist alliance was defeated by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition also suffered a resounding defeat, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists were defeated by the right-wing Popular Party.
‘Political force’
All eyes will now be on what Meloni will do with his growing influence in Brussels.
She was courted both by Ursula von der Leyen, from the center-right EPP group – who is running for a second term at the head of the powerful European Commission – and by Le Pen.
“In a few hours, Giorgia Meloni could be the best-positioned prime minister in terms of political strength in the EU,” noted Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst at LUISS University in Rome, on X as the results came in.
During the campaign, Meloni said he wanted to lead a far-right victory in Europe, similar to what he did in Italy.
But there are tensions between her and Le Pen, who sit in different groups in the European Parliament.
“I don’t think Meloni wants to go back to working with people like Le Pen,” said Daniele Albertazzi, co-director of the Center for Britain and Europe think tank.
“She will have fewer MEPs than Le Pen, but she is prime minister.”
“I think she will continue to try now to play the game with the big guys and focus on the EPP” – and on negotiations for the next head of the European Commission, he told AFP.
Since taking office 15 months ago, heading the most right-wing Italian government since the Second World War, Meloni has maintained a careful political balance.
She campaigned on a promise to restore Italy’s national pride and boost the economy, protect the country’s Christian culture and traditional family values, and reduce illegal immigration.
But despite criticizing the EU’s “superstructure,” she also worked closely with von der Leyen and gained support in Washington for her strong support for Ukraine.
Meloni hailed his entire government’s success in the vote, but his junior coalition partner, Matteo Salvini’s far-right, anti-immigration party, saw its support fall.
Salvini triumphed with 34 percent in the 2019 European Parliament elections, but has since been eclipsed by Meloni, this time obtaining just 9.0 percent of the vote.
The League leader was also overtaken by Forza Italia, the right-wing party founded by the late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, which had a turnout of 9.62 percent.
On the other hand, it was a good night for Meloni’s main opposition, the center-left Democratic Party, which won 24.08 percent of the vote – above expectations.
Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s Five Star Movement got 9.99%.
Meloni ran in the elections herself, but will not take her place, as being a member of the European Parliament is incompatible with a national political position.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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