In a landslide, the Brothers of Italy (FDI) won the 2022 election behind their candidate, Giorgia Meloni. The controversy surrounding this election is that the FDI stems from a neo-fascist group. Despite claims of electoral dominance, the vote was not as decisive as it seemed. After winning the majority of votes, they partially owe their success to the fractured left who did not form a coalition based on earlier disagreements.
Combining the liberal parties’ voter bases shows they could’ve won a majority. However, the left wasn’t able to agree on one candidate to elect in each constituency, which ended up splitting the vote. Additionally, the FDI made calculated decisions, focusing on winning swing elections and perhaps most importantly, avoiding participation in the government that crashed and burned after a critical party pulled out of the coalition in July, preserving their reputation.
The lingering question both Italians and Europeans outside the country have is, how conservative is Giorgia Meloni? She’s worked on trying to dispel the image of a far-right party, showing support for Ukraine and the EU. However, her speech to Vox several months ago outlined her socially conservative ideals.
“Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology… no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration… no to big international finance… no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!” stated Meloni. While she has softened her ideas on certain subjects, there is no denying she will be a hard-right leader.
This speaks to a broader trend throughout Europe; the rise of populism. In almost every country, the far right continues to make inroads among the population. In the recent French elections, center-left President Macron prevailed, despite the National Rally’s candidate Marine Le Pen capturing 41 percent of the vote.
The real issue is that often citizens feel as though they’re left unheard by most mainstream parties. Most left and center-right parties carry the same basic policies, and the only people offering something different are those on the far right.
We also can’t discount the power of populism. Poor integration of immigrants into European countries like Sweden has caused many to blame the immigrants themselves as opposed to the systems that cause these issues. Parties that offer an easy enemy (immigrants, reformers, activists) appeal to large segments of the population.
Unless the liberal parties spearhead a major change in strategy, we can expect the far-right movement in Europe to grow further.
