Politicians from the German AfD, the right-wing national Rassemblement National from France and the Polish PiS congratulated Giorgia Meloni on winning the elections in Italy. According to initial projections, the Roman woman and her radical right-wing Fratelli d'Italia were clearly the strongest party in the parliamentary elections and, with a right-wing alliance in the two chambers, also won the absolute majority of seats.
"We're celebrating with Italy!" Wrote AfD member of parliament Beatrix von Storch on Twitter late Sunday evening. Her party colleague Malte Kaufmann tweeted: "A good day for Italy - a good day for Europe." Referring to the recent elections in Sweden, in which the right was also successful, von Storch wrote: "Sweden in the north, Italy in the south: left-wing governments are something of the past."
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter "Congratulations @Giogia Meloni". French MEP Jordan Bardella from Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) wrote on Twitter that the Italians had given EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "a lesson in humility". The German politician said last week that her agency had "tools" if Italy, under a right-wing government, failed to comply with EU rules. "No threat of any kind can stop democracy," wrote the RN party leader. "The peoples of Europe lift up their heads and take their fate back into their own hands."
Meanwhile, leading MEPs are warning of a government led by right-wing politician Giorgia Meloni. "Giorgia Meloni will be a Prime Minister whose political role models are Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump. The election victory of the alliance of right-centre parties in Italy is therefore worrying," said Katharina Barley (SPD), Vice-President of the European Parliament, the "world" (Monday). Meloni's "election tactical lip service to Europe" cannot hide the fact that she poses a threat to constructive coexistence in Europe, said the former German justice minister.
The spokesman for the German Greens in the EU Parliament, Rasmus Andresen, said that the "unprecedented Italian shift to the right" would have a massive impact on Europe and the European Union. "Italy, as a founding member and the third strongest economy in the EU, is heading towards an anti-democratic and anti-European government," Andresen said in a statement.
According to initial forecasts, the alliance of Meloni's far-right Fratelli d'Italia party, the right-wing populist Lega and the conservative Forza Italia has won an absolute majority in both houses of parliament. This could make Meloni the first woman to head the Italian government in the history of the republic.
