Meloni’s right-wing alliance wins key regional elections in Italy 

Rome, Feb. 14, (dpa/GNA) – The right-wing alliance that governs Italy at national level has received a boost by winning elections in the country’s most populous regions, just four months after Giorgia Meloni took office as prime minister. 

Meloni’s ultra-right Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia), in alliance with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia party and the right-wing populist Lega of Matteo Salvini, emerged winners in regional polls in Lombardy and Lazio, according to results emerging on Tuesday. 

“A result that confirms the unity of the centre-right alliance and strengthens the government’s work,” Meloni tweeted. 

Lombardy, with its capital at Milan, and Lazio, centred on Rome, are Italy’s wealthiest regions. 

Attilio Fontana, the alliance’s candidate in Lombardy, secured re-election with 55% of the votes cast, while Francesco Rocca, garnered 54% in Lazio. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy is now the strongest party in both regions. 

Voter turnout in both regions was low, at 42% in Lombardy and 37% in Lazio. 

Rocca’s victory means that centre-left governments now hold sway in just four of Italy’s 20 regions. 

Meloni’s government took power on the national stage in October last year. 

GNA