Italy: Markus Söder (CSU) distributes reproaches for supporting Silvio Berlusconi

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Silvio Berlusconi casting his vote: as busy as he is scandalous

Photo: FLAVIO LO SCALZO / REUTERS

The right-wing victory in Italy's parliamentary elections came as no surprise.

Nevertheless, European politicians are shocked by the electoral victory of the neo-fascist Fratelli d'Italia and its allies Forza Italia and Lega.

The three parties are striving for a right-wing national government alliance.

A great deal of attention is paid to the fact that Silvio Berlusconi has managed to return to top politics in Italy – nine years after being expelled from Parliament because of a final conviction as a tax fraudster.

Shortly before his 86th birthday, the former head of government confidently won the direct mandate for the Senate, the smaller of the two parliamentary chambers in Rome, in the city of Monza.

Fratelli party leader Giorgia Meloni, on the other hand, has the best chance of becoming prime minister after the clear success.

Berlusconi has been prime minister four times in the past three decades.

In 2013, he was finally sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud involving his media group.

Because of his age, he did not have to go to prison.

However, the Senate withdrew his mandate – and Berlusconi was also banned from holding political offices for six years.

Berlusconi's 32-year-old partner Marta Fascina was re-elected to the House of Representatives.

Söder criticizes Weber for supporting Berlusconi

The Berlusconi cause is also causing friction outside of Italy, for example in the CSU.

Party leader Markus Söder has criticized his deputy Manfred Weber, who is also chairman of the European People's Party (EPP).

The EPP and Weber had supported Berlusconi and his Forza Italia in the election campaign in Italy.

"It is not the task of the EPP and bourgeois parties to enable right-wing national governments," Söder said to journalists after a CSU board meeting in Munich.

The CSU "always made it clear that we are building a firewall to right-wing, neo-fascist groups," said Söder.

“That is also the overwhelming opinion in the CSU and will remain so.” Forza Italia is not the partner that the CSU considers correct.

Weber had supported Berlusconi in a campaign video during the election campaign.

Söder said: "I can only say that we are not happy about the election result in Italy - it's not good for Europe."

For the Union parties, given the likely coalition between their sister party Forza Italia and Meloni, the question arises as to how they will deal with the Italian party in the future.

And there are other voices from the Union: "I find it undemocratic to meet an election winner with such rejection and threats before the new government has even been formed and the first decision has been made," said the CDU member of the Bundestag Jana Schimke MIRROR.

Social Democrat leader resigns

After the defeat in the parliamentary elections, the leader of the Social Democrats, Enrico Letta, announced his resignation from the party leadership.

The former prime minister said he would no longer stand as a candidate for the post of general secretary at the next party congress.

It is now the task of a new generation to form a strong opposition to the radical right-wing government around election winner Meloni.

Letta and his Partito Democratico (PD) failed to prevent Meloni's neo-fascist Fratelli d'Italia party from winning the elections.

The right-wing alliance now has more than half of the seats in parliament.

"Today is a sad day for Italy and for Europe," Letta said, referring to Meloni's anti-EU and reactionary stance.

»The PD will not allow Italy to disappear from the heart of Europe.«

muk/dpa/Reuters/AFP