The far-right Giorgia Meloni waited until after two in the morning on Monday to go out to assess her incontestable victory in the elections this Sunday. She had just prevailed resoundingly, with 26% of the votes, six times more than the 4.3% achieved by the Brothers of Italy in 2018, causing a political earthquake in Europe. Italy is once again in the eye of the hurricane.
With a more institutional image – she also debuted a new haircut – Meloni chose to park her radical version and present herself as a candidate to receive the task of forming a government in Italy. “It is the time of responsibility,” he stressed. The time when if you want to be part of history, you must understand the responsibility we have before tens of millions of people. If we are called to govern this nation, we will do it for all Italians.”
The result of the early elections in Italy, despite the very high abstention rate –only 64% of those who had the right voted– leaves no room for great experiments. The triumvirate formed by the Brothers of Italy, the League and Forza Italia has achieved more than 44% of the votes and will have an absolute majority in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, will not be able to do anything other than abide by the will of the people. It would be very strange if he did not ask Meloni to form his own executive in his consultation process with the different political party delegations.
This Monday, the leader of the Brothers of Italy chose to spend the day with her family and leave the limelight to the party’s lieutenants. But in Italy not a minute of time is wasted, and the right is already beginning to organize the composition of the next executive. Faithful names from Meloni’s entourage such as Guido Crosetto or Giovanbattista Fazzolari ring out strongly. Also the Berlusconian Antonio Tajani or the discreet leaguer Giancarlo Giorgetti, the antithesis of Matteo Salvini. The line should be to maintain a profile of apparent moderation so as not to worry Brussels too much, at least in the economic direction, in the face of the perfect storm that awaits the country this winter. Meloni remains convinced that it would be very convenient to have a financial minister in the orbit of Mario Draghi. “One thing I don’t think he will do is discuss the design of the recovery plan, although perhaps there is some movement on the issue of immigration to give a message to the electorate,” predicts political scientist Sofia Ventura, from the University of Bologna.
The most unpredictable will be what goes through the head of Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, who has been humiliated by voters by holding back around 8.9% of the vote. The far-right formation had set the psychological limit of 10%, and this Monday its leadership began to be questioned by the regional barons. Meloni has surpassed him even in the historical fiefdoms of the League such as Veneto and Lombardy, and the blame is attributed only to the former Minister of the Interior who has made big mistakes with his ambiguity with Russia or on economic issues. The president of the Veneto region, Doge Luca Zaia, has already warned that “simple justifications cannot be found.” MEP Gianantonio Da Re directly asked for his resignation, but Salvini resists and for now only offers a listening process in the party. “I have never had such a desire to work,” he replied, attributing the dismal result to the price of having governed alongside the left with Mario Draghi while Brothers of Italy was in opposition.
It is likely that Salvini’s fall will not be immediate, but that his enemies in the party will wait for some kind of external event –perhaps new evidence of his closeness to Vladimir Putin– to depose him. In any case, if he remains, he will be a dangerous element for Meloni, with whom there has never been personal harmony. He is not going to willingly accept this secondary role, although for now he promises stability: “We will stay for 5 years, without changes, and focusing on what needs to be done,” he said in an appearance.
Silvio Berlusconi, on the other hand, is happy at almost 86 years of age. He has regained a seat in the Senate nine years after being expelled for being convicted of tax fraud at Mediaset. He has been elected in Monza – where he recently bought a football team that he has taken to Serie A – and has also managed to get his partner, Marta Fascina, with whom he celebrated a fictitious wedding, to have been elected by a constituency in Sicily where she has never been seen. Forza Italia has 8% of the votes, and although he is no longer the head of the coalition, he is essential for governance. His dream is to be the conductor of the new far-right generations. What has happened this weekend in Italy is, in part, his doing: he was the first to not hesitate to agree with the heirs of post-fascism and the Northern League. He now he has been devoured by his partners.
