First female premier poised to take helm of Italy government

By NICOLE WINFIELD, FRANCES D’EMILIO and GIADA ZAMPANO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — A party with neo-fascist roots has won the most votes in Italy’s national election, setting the stage for talks to form the country’s first far right-led government since World War II, with Giorgia Meloni at the helm as Italy’s first female premier. Near-final results show Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, swept the election. The country’s lurch to the far right immediately shifts Europe’s geopolitical reality, placing a euroskeptic party in a position to lead a founding member of the European Union and its third-largest economy. Europe’s right-wing party leaders immediately hailed Meloni’s victory and her party’s meteoric rise as sending a historic message to Brussels. Italy’s left warned of “dark days” ahead and vowed to keep Italy in the heart of Europe.