Italy has taken a turn to the right after Giorgia Meloni's Eurosceptic populist party swept to victory in general elections, putting the one-time Benito Mussolini admirer on course to become the first woman to lead the country.
Ms Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, is set to win around 26 per cent of the vote after Sunday's election, while her wider coalition secured a clear majority in parliament.
With former premier Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini's far-right League, they will now begin forming the most right-wing government since World War II, a process likely to take weeks.
Ms Meloni's success represents a seismic change in Italy — a founding member of the European Union and the eurozone's third-largest economy — and for the EU, just weeks after the far-right performed strongly in Sweden's elections.
Ms Meloni used her first public statement to emphasise unity, saying she would govern "for all Italians".
But the 45-year-old, whose party has never held office, has huge challenges ahead, from soaring inflation to a looming energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.
'Proud, free Europe'
Congratulations flooded in from Ms Meloni's European nationalist allies, from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Spain's far-right party Vox.
"Meloni has shown the way for a proud, free Europe of sovereign nations," Vox leader Santiago Abascal tweeted.
But Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares warned that "populist movements always grow, but it always ends in the same way — in catastrophe".
A spokesman for the European Commission said it hoped for "constructive cooperation" with the new government, a line echoed by the Kremlin.
The US said it hoped the new government would continue to back Ukraine in the war against Russia.
"We are eager to work with Italy's government on our shared goals: supporting a free and independent Ukraine, respecting human rights and building a sustainable economic future," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
"Italy is a very Europe-friendly country with very Europe-friendly citizens and we assume that won't change," added a spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
New British Prime Minister Liz Truss took to Twitter to offer her congratulations.
Ms Meloni and Mr Salvini are strongly Eurosceptic, although they no longer want Italy to leave the eurozone.
The Brothers of Italy head says Rome must assert its interests more and has policies that look set to challenge Brussels on everything from public spending rules to mass migration.
Campaigned for 'God, country and family'
Her coalition also wants to renegotiate Italy's part of the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, arguing the almost 200 billion euros ($298 billion) it expects to receive should take into account the energy crisis.
But the funds are tied to a series of reforms only just begun by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and analysts say she has limited room to manoeuvre.
Ms Meloni campaigned on a platform of "God, country and family", sparking fears of a regression on rights in the Catholic-majority country.
Mr Berlusconi struck a Europe-friendly note, pledging the new government would maintain a "European profile" and adding that "good relations with our historic allies and the big countries of the EU are essential for Italy's future".
Ms Meloni had been leading opinion polls since snap elections were called in July after Mr Draghi's government collapsed.
She had distanced herself from her party's neo-fascist past — and her own, after praising dictator Benito Mussolini as a teenager — and presented herself as a straight-talking but unthreatening leader.
Hers was the only party not to join Mr Draghi's national unity coalition in February 2021, making her effectively the sole opposition leader.
Turnout fell to a historic low of around 64 per cent, and some Italians were sanguine about the result, viewing it as yet another chapter in the country's infamous instability.
AFP/ABC
