For once, it turned out as the opinion polls had suggested: Italy gets a new government dominated by a radical right-wing party. The front pages of Italian newspapers on Monday illustrate a country that is divided and fragmented in its view of what it means for the country. On the far left, the reactions are characterized by the most gloomy warnings ahead of the election: Il Manifesto has chosen the headline A noi!, “To us” – a fascist rallying cry from Benito Mussolini’s time. Below, the newspaper has selected a photo of Giorgia Meloni with her arm raised in what is intended to resemble a fascist salute. FOUR PAGES OF THE SAME ISSUE: Some of the newspaper front pages in Italy the day after the election. Photo: Antonia Cimini Right-wing populist Libero reports instead that the election result means that Italians are finally “free” – with three exclamation points. “The left side is beaten”, says an explanatory punchline. However, large parts of the country lie somewhere between these two extremes. Few believe that Meloni’s background on a right wing with roots in the neo-fascist and post-fascist reality that followed the death of dictator Benito Mussolini during World War II means that she has plans for some violent, authoritarian rule. Her party can hardly be called fascist, even though there are always party members who get hurt for raising their right arm now and then. That a party that springs from this far-right tradition becomes the largest in the country nevertheless has great symbolic and historical significance in a country where the constitution makes it clear that Italy is a republic with anti-fascism as a fundamental common value. Hungarian morning The warnings about which role models and collaborators Meloni has in Europe today are perhaps more relevant today. There is a section here that shares the concern behind the newspaper Il Foglio’s coverage today. Good morning, Hungary, says the front page. It is a reference to the unrest that Italy will now move in an illiberal direction, following the example of Hungary and Poland. GOOD MOOD: Lega leader Matteo Salvini and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a press conference in Budapest in 2019 Photo: BERNADETT SZABO / Reuters It is possible to envisage ideological cooperation with these countries on many issues, for example in the fight against abortion and restrictions of LGBT rights. For many of Italy’s traditional main partners in the EU, there is a great deal of concern about whether Italy will follow Hungary and Poland in threatening vetoes and training joint projects. Structurally, it will be difficult for the new government to copy the countries further east, if Meloni really wanted to. The independence of the judiciary, for example, is exceptionally strong in Italy. There has been talk of constitutional changes in the election campaign, but then in connection with a transition to direct election of the country’s president. However, such major changes will be difficult for the new Italian government to implement on its own. Because even though the majority in the National Assembly is secured, it was not a victory that secured two-thirds of the seats, as the opponents had feared. Lowest turnout in the history of the republic This is also another important point when digesting the election results: Due to Italy’s special (and frequently criticized) electoral system and how the mandates are distributed, Meloni’s coalition gets a clear majority of the seats in the National Assembly even if it “only” gets 44 percent of the votes. NOT RETIRING: Matteo Salvini will remain as leader of the Lega, for now. Photo: Antonio Calanni / AP When people talk today that Italy has taken a long step to the right, this is important to keep in mind. The right has received more votes than in the last election. But one big change is that votes have shifted to the right – especially from Matteo Salvini’s Lega, which achieved a very disappointing result. Meloni has also brought in voters from the protest party Five Star Movement. Italy’s brothers have made a landslide election, but it is also a victory that coincides with the lowest turnout in the republic’s history. More than one third of those who could vote this year chose to stay at home. It is a rather dramatic signal to the political class of a dissatisfaction that leads not only to protest votes, but to resignation. The left’s collapse Meloni’s victory is also about the lack of clear alternatives. For the Democratic Party, which holds a place in the centre/left of the scale, the result is disappointing. So disappointing that the party’s leader Enrico Letta took the consequence of it in his speech the day after the election: “Today is a sad day for Italy and for Europe. Hard days await us”, said Letta, before announcing that he will resign as soon as the party gathers for a national meeting. THANKFUL: The leader of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, announced that he will resign after the election disappointment. Photo: Mauro Scrobogna / AP As in several other broad left-wing parties in Europe, much pondering and heated discussions remain before agreeing on a new identity and strategy. The voters on the far left point to an inability to attract radical voters. The voters in the center talk mostly about the lost opportunity to enter a coalition with other centrist parties to create a real alternative to the success of the right. On the side of this is the Five Star Movement, led by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. They achieved a better result than the opinion polls had suggested, not least in the south of the country. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the party has halved, when compared to the previous election. Italian voters move quickly and abruptly. Giorgia Meloni has been lucky with the timing. She has gathered disappointed protest voters from several quarters. But they can disappear again as quickly as they came, if they do not see the results they have asked for, as the political scientist Giovanni Orsina pointed out in an interview with news earlier this week. “Now Giorgia Meloni is the winner. Yesterday she wasn’t. Tomorrow – who knows?” I’m Giorgia. I am a woman Italy has elected a far-right leader, but there are many who voted for Giorgia Meloni for reasons other than those relating to traditional right-wing radical positions: That she is a woman. That she is the only one who has stood outside the many broad coalition governments in the country. That she represents something new and untested. That she speaks straight from the heart. These are voters who have not believed the warnings about how dramatic the changes in the country will now be. BROTHERS OF ITALY: Election campaign meeting with Giorgia Meloni in Caserta. Photo: Simen Ekern / news Expectations for Giorgia Meloni’s new government vary from fear, via hope for hard-hitting and dramatic changes, to shrugging and expectations that everything will remain roughly the same. In the weeks ahead, Italians will see who will be right in their predictions – which Giorgia Meloni will take control of Italy.
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The far right’s queen Giorgia Meloni has won. Now she has to prove that she can rule Italy – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
