Giorgia Meloni’s Eurosceptic Party swept to victory in elections

Italy has taken a turn toward the right after Giorgia Meloni's Eurosceptic populist party swept to victory in the general elections, putting the one-time Benito Mussolini admirer on course to become the first woman to lead the country.

Ms Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has a neo-fascist roots, is poised to win around 26 per cent of the vote after Sunday's election, while her wider coalition secured a clear majority in parliament.

The process is likely to take weeks, with the former Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini's far-right League starting to form the most right-wing government since World War II.

Ms 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.

Ms Meloni made her first public statement to emphasise unity, saying she would govern for all Italians. The 45-year-old, whose party has never held office, has huge challenges ahead, from a looming energy crisis to a war in Ukraine.

Congratulations were given from Ms Meloni's European nationalist allies, from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Spain's far-right party Vox.

Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, tweeted that Meloni has shown the way for a proud, free Europe of sovereign nations.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares warned that populist movements always grow, but it always ends in the same way — in a catastrophe. A spokesman for the European Commission said it hoped for constructive cooperation with the new government, a line echoed by the Kremlin.

The US said it hoped that the new government would continue to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.

We are eager to work with Italy's government to support a free and independent Ukraine, respecting human rights and building a sustainable economic future, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Italy is a very Europe-friendly country with very European citizens and we assume that won't change, according to a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Liz Truss, the new British Prime Minister, took to Twitter to offer her congratulations.

Ms Meloni and Mr Salvini are strongly Eurosceptic, even though they don't want Italy to leave the eurozone.

The Brothers of Italy head says Rome must assert its interests more and has policies that are set to challenge Brussels on everything from public spending rules to mass migration.

Her coalition wants to renegotiate Italy's part of the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, arguing that the 200 billion euros $298 billion it expects to receive should take into account the energy crisis.

The funds are tied to a series of reforms only just begun by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and analysts say she has limited room to manoeuvre.

Ms Meloni campaigned on a platform of God, country and family, sparking fears of a regression on rights in the Catholic-majority country.

Berlusconi said that the new government would maintain a European profile and that good relations with our historic allies and the big countries of the EU are essential for Italy's future. In July, snap elections were called in July after Mr Draghi's government collapsed.

She had distanced herself from her party's neo-fascist past — and her own after praising dictator Benito Mussolini as a teenager, and presented herself as a straight-talking but unthreatening leader.

Hers was the only party that did not join the national unity coalition of Mr Draghi in February 2021, making her the sole opposition leader.

Turnout fell to a historic low of 64 per cent, and some Italians were sanguine about the result, viewing it as another chapter in the country's infamous instability.