Once Mussolini Admirer, She's Set To Head Italy After Far-Right Victory
NDTV
Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, is set to win around 26 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, while her wider coalition secured a clear majority in parliament.
Italy took a sharp turn to the right Monday after Giorgia Meloni's Eurosceptic populist party swept to victory in general elections, putting the one-time Mussolini admirer on course to become the first woman to lead the country.
Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, is set to win around 26 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, while her wider coalition secured a clear majority in parliament.
With former premier Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini's far-right League, they will now begin forming the most right-wing government since World War II, a process likely to take weeks.
Meloni's 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 performed strongly in Sweden's elections.