Italy - right ousts left in 2nd major EU country this month | Eastern NC Now

A solid win by the three party coalition of the right in Italy's parliamentary election is the second major swing to the right in a European election this month.  Two weeks ago, a coalition of four right of center parties ousted the governing Social Democrats in Sweden.

With final results tabulated, the coalition of the ultra conservative Brothers of Italy of Giorgia Meloni, the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Lega of Matteo Salvini, and the traditional conservative Forza Italia of Silvio Berlusconi won 231 seats in the 400 seat Chamber of Deputies and 115 seats in the 200 seat Senate.  By party, the Brothers won 119 Chamber seats to 66 for the Lega, and 46 for Forza Italia.  Firebrand national conservative Meloni is tipped to become prime minister.

The left wing coalition led by the Democratic Party won 69 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 44 in the Senate.  The party leader resigned over their poor showing.

The populist Five Star Movement led by former prime minister Conte won 52 Chamber seats and 28 Senate seats.  Five Star's ideology is a mish-mash of right and left.  The centrist Italia Viva led by former Prime Minister Renzi won 21 Chamber seats and 9 Senate seats.  Also winning seats was the Sud Tirol Volkspartei, a center-right party representing German speakers in South Tirol, with 3 Chamber seats and 2 Senate seats, and a populist Sicilian party which won 1 Chamber seat and 1 Senate seat.  An alliance of Italians abroad won 1 Chamber seat and a Senate seat.

The Brothers of Italy, named for a line in the country's national anthem, soared from the fifth largest party in the last election with 4% of the vote to become Italy's largest political party with 26% of the vote this election.  Similarly in Sweden, the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Sweden Democrats surged to become the largest of the right of center parties and the second largest party in the country.

Spain will be holding parliamentary elections next year, and polls have consistently shown a two party alliance of the traditional conservative Popular Party and the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Vox Party likely to win a majority over the governing Socialists.  The Citizens Party, which favors small government and low taxes and is a frequent ally of the Popular Party and Vox in local government coalitions, seems to be fading at the national level but would be a potential third ally in a conservative coalition if needed.

Tucker Carlson had a great commentary on the Italian election: