The Right-Wing Bloc of Parties Won the Italian Parliamentary Elections

The right-wing bloc of parties won the most votes and seats in the Italian Parliamentary elections last week. Although they did not win a majority of either, they will have a majority of seats in the Parliament and form a coalition government, because Italian election law favors blocs so they can form majority governing coalitions. It will be led by the Brothers of Italy party, which will be the largest single party in Parliament. The bloc fell short of a two-thirds majority to be able to amend the Constitution without referendums. Turnout was the lowest ever in the early elections, the first ever held in Italy in early autumn, as some Italians lost faith because governments tend not to last long and are often replaced with unelected ones mid-term. The Brothers, a post-fascist party, were the only major party not in the national unity government. They benefitted from the increased media attention, even though the Government, which took power a year and a half ago, was popular, as it had been fulfilling its purposes of managing the Coronavirus Pandemic response and on receiving massive aid from the European Union (EU) for pandemic recovery, in exchange for necessary reforms. There was an even larger drop in support for fellow bloc member, the Trumpist anti-migrant League party than expected, which the Brothers picked up. The third party in the right-wing bloc, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia, a fellow member of the bloc, came close behind the League, slightly better than expected, though also steep drop from previous elections. The center-left, which came in second, and the left-leaning populists, who finished third, also suffered drops in support, although the latter not as much as expected, considering they had initiated the fall of the unity government that necessitated the snap elections. The left and the center earned a majority of votes, but did not unite sufficiently into a bloc. A party that opposes Italy’s membership in the EU attracted minimal support and won no seats. The Brothers of Italy promised to continue the reforms, but want to renegotiate the favorable EU deal with Italy to account for the current energy and inflationary crisis. They are opposed to the populist League’s call to increase debt through deficit spending on welfare, as Italy already has a massive debt. The Brothers share the anti-migrant policy of the League and their solidarity with nationalist authoritarian States like Hungary, despite their leader’s claims of having rejected fascism, but are more favorable to economic sanctions on the Russian Federation for aggression against Ukraine and for sending arms to Ukraine than the League. The Brothers benefitted from the economic crises, which Russia exploited to urge voters to punish governments that imposed sanctions on it. Forza Italia promises to anchor the bloc to the EU, of which it has the third largest economy, versus their more critical bloc partners, and to the Atlantic alliance. Italy, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a close ally of the United States. Furthermore, Italy’s strong presidency and its courts are powerful constitutional checks against autocracy and authoritarianism. The incoming coalition, led by the Brothers leader, who will likely be given the mandate to be Prime Minister by the President, despite having little governing experience, will have to continue to deliver the reforms the EU requires for aid, even if it is able to renegotiate the EU deal, while managing the pandemic and economic crises and maintaining relations with Europe and the U.S., all while defying Italian history and keeping the fractious coalition together longer than the average of 15 months.