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Conservative Won Italy’s Regional Election

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By kevin james jeffery

February 14, 2023
3:41 pm
Los Angeles, CA

"If you’ve been waiting for an invitation, this calligraphy is it. Commissioned by Facebook, this is a hand-lettered design for a poster. Quote is Facebook mine "

- Massimo Vignelli

The Italian people have spoken, giving Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition wins in two of the major regions of the country. The conservative bloc won 50% of the votes in Lazio, where Rome is located, and 55% of the votes in Lombardy, centered on the financial capital of Milan. After Meloni won the election in September, many wondered if her allies would follow suit. While the winners certainly benefited from the new Prime Minister’s honeymoon with voters, the win was overshadowed by the news of weak voter turnout. Only 40% of Italy’s people cast ballots in Lazio and Lombardy, which contain around a quarter of the nation’s population. A senior member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, Fabio Rampelli, told a popular news outlet how unfortunate it was

After Meloni won the election in September, many wondered if her allies would follow suit. While the winners certainly benefited from the new Prime Minister’s honeymoon with voters, the win was overshadowed by the news of weak voter turnout. Only 40% of Italy’s people cast ballots in Lazio and Lombardy, which contain around a quarter of the nation’s population.

A senior member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, Fabio Rampelli, told a popular news outlet how unfortunate it was that the turnout was so low, and how important it is to build relationships between Italians and institutions. Miloni, on the other hand, celebrated the victory of her coalition allies, Tweeting, “This result consolidates the center-right and strengthens the work of the government.”

Now with 75% of Italy’s regions run by conservatives, the party is in an advantageous situation to shape national politics. The right already controlled Lombardy, but Lazio has now moved to the right from center-left. Officially the most popular party domestically, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy gained 26% more support in Lombardy and 33% backing in Lazio.

As Italy’s first female prime minister, Meloni won back in September 2022 to form the most conservative party since the Second World War. As Europe’s third-largest economy, many people outside of Italy took notice and were alarmed. Much of her victory could be credited to unpopular support for her rivals, with the League only winning 9% of the vote.

The people of Italy have proven to the rest of Europe the popularity of the right party by doubling down after Meloni’s win. The rumors about the lack of support for her allies were proven false when her partners, Matteo Salvini of Lombardy and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, easily beat their opponents. Their mutual loathers, Third Pole, 5-Star Movement, and the Democratic Party take no comfort in their defeat.

The Democratic Party’s leader, Enrico Letta, stressed that this loss proved that Third Pole and 5-Star should have spent less effort opposing the Democratic Party and more directed at Italy’s party in power. Unless Meloni’s rivals can learn to work together, her party could control the country for the foreseeable future.