Right and Far-Right Coalition Led by Berlusconi Leads Italian Elections

Initial estimates from the pivotal Italian elections indicate that the coalition of right and far-right parties led by Silvio Berlusconi has garnered the most votes overall. It appears that none of the parties or coalitions managed to secure the 40% threshold necessary to form a government, and as previously anticipated, the upcoming government will be a coalition. Polls two weeks prior to the elections suggested that the coalition of right and far-right parties led by Silvio Berlusconi would likely secure around 37% of the votes, thus obtaining the most parliamentary seats. The center-right party 'Forza Italia' led by Berlusconi has allied with two far-right parties, 'Lega Nord' (now known simply as 'Lega') and 'Fratelli d'Italia', as well as the center-right (Christian Democratic) party 'Noi con l'Italia'. Several media outlets refer to the 'Fratelli d'Italia' party as a nationalist and 'neo-fascist' party. Polls indicated that the 'Movimento Cinque Stelle' (Five Star Movement), with its anti-establishment and anti-corruption slogans, could independently secure around 28% of the votes but would rank second after Berlusconi's coalition. The party is led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio. In contrast, the left-wing coalition in Italy is predicted to secure about 27% of the total votes. Right-wing parties have heavily focused on the issue of immigration in Italy; Silvio Berlusconi has promised to expel '600,000 illegal immigrants'. The 81-year-old Berlusconi cannot assume the position of Prime Minister due to his conviction in a 2012 tax fraud case, which resulted in a five-year ban from holding public office. He also has other cases involving illegal sexual relations and bribery of a senator. His estimated wealth, according to Forbes, is eight billion dollars. Berlusconi owns a media empire in Italy and has served as Prime Minister four times. However, he has promised to propose Antonio Tajani, the President of the European Parliament, who is centrist and pro-European Union, as Prime Minister. AFP has compared the rise in popularity of populist and right-wing parties to the vote for Brexit and Donald Trump's victory in the United States. Steve Bannon, a former advisor to Donald Trump, who visited Rome, described the alliance of the anti-establishment 'Movimento Cinque Stelle' with Berlusconi's anti-immigration coalition as the 'ultimate dream'. Besides the immigration issue, the 10.8% unemployment rate and the sluggish Italian economy were other focal points of the electoral campaigns. Italy has the second-highest debt after Greece. Italy is the third-largest economy in the European Union, which has led Brussels to closely monitor developments in the country. If a right-wing and populist government is formed, it would deal another blow to the EU following Brexit and the Austrian elections. Voting ended at 11 PM local time in Rome. In this election, 46 million people were eligible to vote.