Giorgia Meloni Gets Personal as Italy Prepares for EU Polls
Italians are set to start voting on Saturday afternoon as part of a four-day European election event, where citizens from 27 countries will choose members of the next European Parliament. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is aiming to strengthen her political influence in Italy and has even encouraged voters to simply “just write Giorgia” on their ballots.
While most EU countries are set to vote on Sunday, the election period has been marred by violence against political leaders. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was assaulted in Copenhagen just two days before Danes are due to vote. This incident follows an assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico last month, which saw him recently released from the hospital. Several German politicians have also faced attacks. The ongoing violence has shocked European leaders as nearly 373 million voters head to the polls.
Although European elections are not supposed to directly impact national politics, they often do, particularly in Italy. Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI), has been Italy’s prime minister since 2022. She has uniquely positioned her name at the top of her party’s ballot, despite not planning to take a seat in the European Parliament.
Meloni has maintained solid poll ratings, benefiting from a fragmented opposition and the waning popularity of Matteo Salvini’s League party, a junior coalition partner. In response to declining support, Salvini has pushed his party’s rhetoric further right, drawing attention with controversial posters opposing EU initiatives like electric cars and plastic bottle caps. Salvini’s lead candidate, Roberto Vannacci, an army general dismissed for expressing homophobic and racist views, has also amplified the party’s far-right stance.
The Democratic Party (PD), led by Elly Schlein, aims to match its 19% vote share from 2019 to secure her leadership. On the far left, Ilaria Salis, detained in Hungary since 2023 on charges related to a violent incident, is running on the Left/Greens platform.
As voting unfolds across Europe, Dutch exit polls indicate a close race between a left-green alliance and Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party, with a turnout of 47% – the highest since 1989. Irish and Czech voters have already cast their ballots, with Slovakia, Latvia, and Malta voting on Saturday. Germany votes on Sunday, with the centre-right CDU/CSU potentially surpassing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party. The AfD, embroiled in recent scandals, is also a significant contender.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party is competing with a resurgent Socialist party for second place, trailing Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, which is polling over 30%. Macron has urged a high turnout, warning that Europe faces unprecedented threats from the rising right.
Other European leaders have echoed this urgency. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, recovering from an assassination attempt, blamed a climate of hatred fostered by opposition and media. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, critical of EU support for Ukraine, warned that Europe is nearing a critical juncture.
Voting in Italy will conclude late Sunday night, with initial projections expected shortly after the polls close.
