Premier Giorgia Meloni's right-wing
Brothers of Italy (FdI) party came first in Italy in the
European elections with 28.9% of the vote, according to the
latest projections after the ballot boxes closed late on Sunday.
That is even better than the 26% FdI won in the 2022 general
election that thrust her to power.
"It's an even more beautiful night than two years ago," Meloni
said in an address early on Monday.
The opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD), led by another
woman, Elly Schlein, did well too, coming second with 24.5%,
according to the projections.
Schlein hailed the outcome as an "extraordinary result".
The other main opposition party, the 5-Star Movement (M5S), came
a long way back in third with 10.5%.
Within the ruling centre-right alliance, the projections put
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani's Forza Italia (FI) and Noi
Moderati on 9.2%, ahead of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini's
League on 8.5%.
It was the first nationwide vote since the death last year of
FI's founder, ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
The Green-Left Alliance (AVS) was on 6.8%, well above the
threshold of 4% needed to get MEPs elected.
But the United States of Europe (SUE) list presented by
ex-premier Matteo Renzi and former foreign minister and European
Commissioner Emma Bonino was just below the 4% mark, while
another centrist group, former industry minister's Carlo
Calenda's Azione was also under the entry bar too on 3.2%.
Azione and Renzi's Italia Viva (IV) party ran together in the
2022 general election as the 'Third Pole' and got over 7% of the
vote.
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