INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
weekend, boosting her standing both at home and abroad.With almost all ballots counted, Brothers of Italy won 28.8%of the vote, more than
four times what it took in the last European Union election in 2019, and exceeding the 26% it secured in the 2022 national ballot, when it
another opposition group, the 5-Star Movement, was third with 9.9% - its worst showing at a countrywide level since its creation in 2009.The
Italians are giving us a loud and clear message to go ahead with our work ..
surpassing the anti-immigrant League, which had 9.1%, a disappointment for leader Matteo Salvini, who has pushed his party hard right,
antagonising its old guard.Underscoring tensions in the League, party founder Umberto Bossi voted for Forza Italia this time around, his
neo-fascist group, and her 2022 victory set the tone for far-right gains across Europe, including in the latest EU ballot, which has seen
the continent swing right.However, Meloni has moderated her image on the international stage, dropping her previous anti-EU rhetoric and
presenting herself as a bridge between the mainstream centre-right and her own national conservative camp, which was previously shunned.Her
strong showing on Sunday came in stark contrast to setbacks suffered by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,
whose parties were routed.Speaking on radio, Meloni said, however, it was still too early to say whether she would back a second term for
centre-right European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Her group of lawmakers might prove decisive should Meloni decide to back von
centre-left PD party in 2023 and had struggled to impose her will on the old guard
The PD won 19% of the vote in 2022 and Schlein was anxious to improve on that.The hard left Green and Left Alliance won around 6.7%, meaning
that its candidate, Ilaria Salis, an Italian activist detained in Hungary for more than a year for allegedly assaulting far-right militants,
is now an EU lawmaker.The one disappointment for all parties was the turnout, which was just below 50%, initial data suggested, a record low
in a country that has had historically strong voter participation.Source: Reuters--Agencies
