Delhi, September 26: Giorgia Meloni is on course to become the first female prime minister of Italy after her party Brothers of Italy came top in Sunday's elections. According to the first exit polls on Italy general elections 2022, Giorgina Meloni's right-wing coalition, which also includes Matteo Salvini’s Italian League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, will claim about 43% of the votes. She will form "the most right-wing government" for the first time in more than half a century since Benito Mussolini.

Georgia Meloni has been an opponent of LGBTQ. She has often been heard making statements against the LGBTQ lobby. Apart from this, she also said naval blockade around Libya would "address" the migrant issue. Mario Draghi Resigns As Italy Premier After Government Implodes

Who Is Giorgia Meloni?

  • Giorgia Meloni heads Italy's right-wing European Conservative and Reformist Party, also known as the Far Right Brothers of Italy Party. The far right Brothers of Italy party received only 4 per cent of the vote in the 2018 national elections. 

  • Meloni, 45, a resident of Rome, campaigned with the slogans of God, Country and Family. She leads a party that advocates for Europe's Euroscepticism, anti-immigration policies, and the weakening of LGBTQ and abortion rights. Italy: Man Tests Positive for Monkeypox, COVID-19 and HIV at the Same Time After Returning From Spain.

  • Recently, Meloni had said that civil unions are good enough for gay couples. She also opposed adoption by gay couples and said that having a mother and a father was best for a child. Though she has repeatedly said that she is not homophobic and is not going to change existing civil rights.

  • Abortion was one of the most talked about issues during campaign after Meloni said she wanted to promote programmes encouraging women with financial or other difficulties to carry pregnancies to term although she insists she would not ban abortion.

  • Fighting migration was a major part of campaign for Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party. Meloni had said that in agreement with North African nations she will have border controls and blocking boat landings to stop human trafficking.

  • Meloni's partners in Italy's right-leaning coalition are former deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini and the Forza Italia party. They are believed to have partially contributed to Meloni's popularity. In 2008, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi named Meloni as Minister of Sports, making her the youngest minister to hold that position. Meloni was a junior partner in Salvini's coalition in the 2018 election.

  • Meloni named her party after the opening line of Italy’s national anthem. Brothers of Italy is a war cry which means death for freedom. Due to COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war, Italy's economy has declined. There is an energy crisis in the country. People have high hopes from the new PM.

Elections in Italy were held on a number of issues, including the livelihood crisis, a 209 billion euro package from the European COVID-19 Recovery Fund and the country's support for Ukraine.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2022 09:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).