Election boost for far right as centrist alliance collapses
A centre-left alliance broke down in less than a week, potentially handing victory to a coalition that includes two far-right parties in general elections in September.
Carlo Calenda (below), the leader of Azione, a small centrist force seen as crucial to giving clout to the alliance led by the centre-left Democratic party, withdrew his support on Sunday.
An alliance led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist roots, and including Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, is poised to win a clear majority in the ballot on 25 September.