Iran Press/ Europe: Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni said Monday she was ready to govern for "all Italians" after her eurosceptic populists swept to victory in general elections, putting her on course to guide Italy's most right-wing government since World War II.
According to projections around one in four voters in Sunday's election backed Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots.
But the party leads a coalition set to win a majority in parliament.
Her success represents a seismic change in Italy, a founding member of the European Union and the eurozone's third largest economy -- and for the EU, just weeks after the far-right outperformed in elections in Sweden, AFP reported.
Meloni, who campaigned on a motto of "God, country and family", is expected to become Italy's first female prime minister, although the process of forming a new government could take weeks.
Meloni said voters had sent a "clear message" of support for her party to lead their right-wing coalition to power.
"If we are called to govern this nation, we will do it for all Italians. We will do it with the aim of uniting people, of enhancing what unites them rather than what divides them," she told reporters.
Her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini's far-right League and former premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, lagged behind her in the polls.
But together they were forecast to win around 43 percent, enough to secure a majority in both houses of parliament.
Full results are not due until later Monday but the centre-left Democratic Party, the coalition's main rivals, conceded, saying it was a "sad" day.
Turnout fell to a historic low of around 64 percent, about nine points lower than the last elections in 2018.
Proud, free Europe
Meloni no longer wants Italy to leave the eurozone but says Rome must assert its interests more, and has policies that look set to challenge Brussels on everything from public spending rules to mass migration.
"Meloni has shown the way for a proud, free Europe of sovereign nations," Spain's far-right party Vox leader Santiago Abascal tweeted.
Meloni had been leading opinion polls since Prime Minister Mario Draghi called snap elections in July following the collapse of his national unity government.
Italian politics is notoriously unstable, with nearly 70 governments since 1946, and Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi do not always agree.
The League and Forza Italia looked to have performed poorly, taking eight percent each, down from 17 and 14 percent respectively in 2018.
Italy's political system is a bicameral parliamentary system that, at the end of the elections and the determination of the winning political faction, the prime minister is appointed by the president from the same faction and with the agreement of the parties.
These elections were initially planned for the spring of next year, but the resignation of the Prime Minister of this country, Mario Draghi, on July 21 and the collapse of his coalition government, which included left, right and moderate parties, caused the date of the election to be changed and to be held earlier than the scheduled date.
224
Read More:
Italy's election kicks off with high chances for far-right
Italy's election campaign ends; Possible victory for rightists
