Italy set to elect far-right govt

Italians voted yesterday on whether to usher in the country's first government led by the far right since World War II, bringing eurosceptic populists to the heart of Europe.

The Brothers of Italy party, headed by one-time Mussolini supporter Giorgia Meloni, has led opinion polls and looks set to take office in a coalition with the far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia parties.

Meloni, 45, who campaigned on a motto of "God, country and family", hopes to become Italy's first female prime minister.

Turnout was around 19 percent by 1000 GMT, according to the interior ministry, in line with the last elections in 2018, as large queues formed outside voting stations.

"I'm playing to win, not just to take part," Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League, told reporters as he went to cast his ballot.

President Sergio Mattarella and Enrico Letta, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, also voted early yesterday. Polls close at 2100 GMT.

Brussels and the markets are watching closely, amid concern that Italy -- a founding member of the European Union -- may be the latest country to veer hard right, less than two weeks after the far right outperformed in elections in Sweden.

Brothers of Italy, which has roots in the post-fascist movement founded by supporters of dictator Benito Mussolini, pocketed just four percent of the vote in 2018.

Meloni has moderated her views over the years, notably abandoning her calls for Italy to leave the EU's single currency. However, she insists her country must stand up for its national interests, backing Hungary in its rule of law battles with Brussels.