Italy entered a period of uncertainty on Monday after the victory in the legislative elections of the far-right leader Giorgia Meloniat the head of a divided right-wing coalition facing major economic and political challenges.
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After obtaining an absolute majority in Parliament, the leader of the Brothers of Italy (post-fascist) and her allies Matteo Salvini of La Liga (anti-immigration) and Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia (right) will try to form a government in the coming days.
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The recount of the votes confirmed this Monday the clear advantage of Meloni, who obtained more than 26 percent of the votes.
After knowing the results, the conservative newspaper Il Giornale – owned by the Berlusconi family – described the result as “Revolution at the polls”. For the newspaper of the industrialists The stamp weigh “the thousand unknowns” that open in Italy after the “historic victory” of the extreme right.
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The truth is the European Union (EU) anxiously awaits the arrival of Meloni to power. According to analysts consulted by Efe, the new government may generate some turbulence between Rome and Brussels on migration matters, although they see it unlikely that foreign policies, even towards Russia, will change much.
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The triumph of the leader of the Brothers of Italy is part of the “surge wave” of support for nationalist radical right-wing partiesconfirms the Elcano expert Ignacio Molina, for whom “European countries are not necessarily doomed to radicalize the conservative side so much”, as in Italy or recently in Sweden.
Now, indirectly, Molina does believe that the change in Italy is going to affect the EU, since he has no doubt that the new government “is going to put sticks” on integration and on some issues, such as the rule of law and migration issues, you can join countries like Poland and Hungary.
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The truth is that while Meloni has received the enthusiastic support of the right-wing and conservative governments of Poland and Hungary, as well as the congratulations of the far-right Vox party in Spain, and the Rassemblement National (RN) in France, other countries have openly expressed their concern.
Populism “always ends in catastrophe”, commented the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the socialist government of Spain, Jose Manuel Albares.
In France, the prime minister, Elizabeth Bornewarned that his country will be “attentive” to “respect” for human rights and abortion, while Germany hopes that Italy will continue to be “very favorable to Europe.”
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For his part, the United States Foreign Minister, Antony Blinken, expressed the desire to work together, stressing that one of the lines of work will be respect for human rights.
European countries are not necessarily doomed to radicalize the conservative side so much
“We are ready to work with any political force that is capable of overcoming hatred towards our country (…) and being more constructive in relations,” said Dmitri Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, referring indirectly to one of the greatest challenges for the future of Europe, the war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
In his first speech after the election, Meloni promised to “govern for all” Italians. “We will do it with the aim of uniting the people”held.
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“Italy has five years of stability ahead of it,” promised Salvini, while veteran tycoon Berlusconi returns to the Senate after being expelled from Parliament in 2013 for his conviction of tax fraud.
The new government will have to manage the crisis caused by galloping inflation, while Italy is already collapsing under a debt that represents 150 percent of GDP, the highest in the euro zone behind Greece.
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Regarding the results of the markets, investors oscillated this Monday between concern and caution after the victory of the post-fascist leader. The Milan Stock Exchange closed the day with a rise of 0.67 percent, the best performance of the European markets, which are waiting to see what happens before reacting.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE
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