Firebrand conservative Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy (FdI) have reached a new record high in the polls as she continues her work in forming the next Italian government.
The new poll, conducted by the firm Swg, shows Meloni and her FdI polling even higher than their September 25th election result at 27.5 per cent, the highest polling number the party has ever achieved in its history.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party (PD), which finished second in last month’s election, are on the decline with 17.5 per cent of the vote, below their election result of around 19 per cent, the newspaper Il Giornale reports.
The Five Star Movement (M5S), who collapsed in the last election compared to their performance in the 2018 election, are gaining ground according to the Swg poll, and sit at 17 per cent, possibly heading past the PD.
Meloni’s centre-right coalition, which includes Matteo Salvini’s League, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and others, remains dominant with 44.2 per cent of the vote in the poll, while the leftist coalition polls at just 24.4 per cent, a near-20 per cent gap.
Expected to assume the helm as Italy’s first female Prime Minister, Ms Meloni has been working on forming a government since her party placed first in last month’s national elections and had vowed to appoint technocrats to key ministries if no suitable candidates from her coalition can be found.
Responsibility and strong nerves. The moment is important and I want to do well because in this government it is I who put my face to it. We have a huge weight on our shoulders, but I assure you that we will put the maximum effort into it,” Meloni said.
Much of Meloni’s support during the election came from traditionally left-wing areas such as Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, with her party smashing the so-called “red wall” traditionally held by the Democratic Party.
A breakdown of voting by the firm Ipsos also revealed that much of Meloni’s support has come from workers and the middle class, while the wealthier and more university-educated Italian population voted heavily for the left-wing PD.