EUReview of the Round Table on the results of the Italian elections of 2022 proposed by Vivien Geoffray

On Wednesday, October 5, the Jean Monnet Center held a roundtable discussion on the victory of Giorgia Meloni and the right-wing alliance led by Fratelli d’Italia, which gave them a majority in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. To discuss the historical aspect of these elections as well as the consequences on the European Union, the invited speakers were : Laurie Beaudonnet (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science), Ruth Dassonneville (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science), Frédéric Mérand (Director, Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal) and Luca Sollai (Lecturer, Department of History).

Ruth Dassonneville began by reviewing the specificities of these elections. First of all, she noted the high volatility of the voters. This leads us to question the stability of Italian power and the ability of the Italian right to govern effectively in the coming months. The issue of the Italian voting system (mixed parallel voting) was also discussed, as it favored disproportionate results allowing a larger victory for the right-wing alliance. Finally, another important factor in these elections was the drop in turnout of more than 9 points, which can be analyzed as a lack of interest or a “fed up” of the entire Italian electorate and not only of the young people who are often the most numerous to desert the ballot box in Italy.

These elections mark the de-demonization of the Italian post-fascist extreme right and a normalization of its discourse on issues that it had previously not addressed, such as economic and social issues. Thus, despite its anti-system rhetoric, Fratelli d’Italia was able to provide a credible response to other parties lacking speed without systematically addressing themes that are nevertheless recurrent in the discourse of the Italian far right, such as immigration.

Finally, these elections were followed with great interest by the countries of the European Union. Indeed, Italy is seen as the political laboratory of the EU, thus raising the question of the rise of the far right to power in the EU and no longer as an opposition force. However, Fratelli d’Italia did not put forward arguments against the European Union during its campaign. On the other hand, the European recovery plan (NextGenerationEU), which provides the Italian government with 200 billion euros, is creating a pro-European wind among the Italian population. Giorgia Meloni’s mission will be to use the stimulus package initially granted to Mario Draghi while reassuring the European authorities in order to continue to benefit from this stimulus package. These elections finally admit a reorganization of the role of far-right parties in the European Parliament, led by Fratelli d’Italia, more inclined to push for a Europe in its own (conservative) image rather than to obstruct the political debate in Parliament as has been the case in recent years on the part of far-right parties in the European Parliament.