Irish Examiner view: Far right on the march in Europe

Having lost one of its most credible post-war leader last week, Italy must now contend with the political heirs of Mussolini

Mario Draghi's government collapsed last week, and waiting in the wings is the populist Fratelli d’Italia party, led by Giorgia Meloni, a former minister under Silvio Berlusconi. Picture: Gregorio Borgia/AP

The collapse last week of the Italian government under Mario Draghi has set up the potential for the first far-right leader of the country since Benito Mussolini.

Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), a neo-conservative and right-wing populist party led by Giorgia Meloni, has its roots in Mussolini’s National Fascist Party and its post-war successor, the Italian Social Movement. In recent times, Fratelli d’Italia has gone from barely scraping 4% of the vote in the 2018 general election to being the most popular. With a snap election facing the country on September 25 after Draghi’s resignation, Meloni is looking to become Italy’s first female prime minister. Her party leads an alliance which includes Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. The alliance is being tipped to win a clear majority in September’s poll.