Giorgia Meloni is on course to become Italy's first female prime minister and lead the country's most right-wing government since World War Two, a sharp rightwards turn that has been met with a mixture of adulation, anxious trepidation and apprehension.
The leader of the Brothers of Italy is expected to become the next prime minister.
The far-right Brothers of Italy party led a conservative alliance to victory at the polls on Sunday and is expected to become Italy's next prime minister.
The Brothers of Italy are projected to win 26% of the vote, the most out of any party, with former prime minister Berlusconi's Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini's League expected to take 8% and 9% of votes, respectively.
The most far-right government in Italy in decades was celebrated by members of Europe's far-right.
Hungary's nationalist prime minister posted a photo of the two of them together and his political director said the two shared a common vision and approach to Europe.
European Union President Ursula von der Leyen made critical comments about needing to respect European values on human rights that were directed at Hungary and Poland.
According to Spain's foreign minister, populism always ends in disaster.
Observers in Europe and the world are worried about Italy turning to the right. Italy is a founding member of the EU, the bloc's third biggest economy and a political powerhouse. It follows on the heels of a populist surge that propelled a right-wing bloc to victory in Sweden and months after Le Pen put up a fight for the French presidency. The leader of Brothers of Italy has sought to rehabilitate the party's image and distance it from its fascist origins. The party gained 4% of the vote at the general election, but her rise in popularity has been swift.
The outcome marks a shift in power within the EU, particularly on migration and the economy. Budapest and Warsaw have been at odds with the EU over fundamental issues of human rights and governance. According to Borne, access to abortion should be respected by EU members.
Italy is likely to have a hard-right government.
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