Voting begins in Italy's snap elections with right-wing alliance seen to win
Early parliamentary elections have kicked off in Italy with pre-elections opinion polls showing Giorgia Meloni set to take the helm as the country's first woman prime minister, and return the country's
most right-wing government since World War.
Voting on Sunday began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will continue until 11 p.m. (2100 GMT) when exit polls will be published.
Earlier opinion polls indicated Meloni, who is head of the Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), will win the elections, beating her main rival Enrico Letta, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party.
Months of political turmoil and party infighting had prompted Prime Minister Mario Draghi to resign in July, opening the way for the early elections.
Draghi, who is a former European Central Bank chief, became prime minister in 2021 in the midst of the COVID pandemic and an ailing economy.
Prior to his resignation, Draghi had tried to maintain unity within the government; however, after failing to stop bickering and division in the political forces behind him, he resigned from his post and called for the early elections in fall.
In the meantime, the outgoing government had introduced a number of measures aimed at managing an imminent energy crisis due to Brussels’ anti-Russia stance over Ukraine.
Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s League, both right-wing, support Meloni as the new premier. Italy's right-wing has always maintained close ties with main energy supplier, Russia.
On the other end of the spectrum, Letta, leader of the center-left Democratic Party, portrays himself as a candidate fighting for the European cause. He vowed, if he wins, to fight “for an Italy that will be in the heart of Europe”.
The energy crisis in Italy is expected in other countries across Europe, as well.
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