Italians will begin casting their votes on Saturday afternoon as part of a four-day European election process across 27 countries to choose members of the next EU Parliament. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hopes the results will strengthen her position in Italian politics, urging voters to "just write Giorgia" on their ballots.

Most EU countries will vote on Sunday, following a turbulent few weeks marked by physical attacks on European leaders and politicians. On Friday evening, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was assaulted in Copenhagen, just two days before Danes head to the polls. This incident shocked leaders across Europe, occurring in the midst of elections involving up to 373 million voters.

Last month, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico survived an assassination attempt and has only recently been discharged from the hospital. Several German politicians have also faced attacks. Although these elections are not meant to influence national politics, the reality is often different, especially in Italy.

Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI), became prime minister in 2022. She has taken the unusual step of placing her name at the top of her party’s ballot, despite having no intention of taking a seat in the European Parliament.

Since becoming prime minister, Meloni has enjoyed steady poll ratings, helped by a fragmented centrist and left-wing opposition and the decline of her junior coalition partner, Matteo Salvini’s League party. In an effort to regain support, Salvini has pushed his party's rhetoric further to the right.

The League’s campaign posters, which criticize various EU-backed initiatives, have garnered both ridicule and attention. Salvini's lead candidate, Roberto Vannacci, has also stirred controversy. The army general was dismissed after publishing a book with homophobic and racist views and has since doubled down on these views as a League candidate. Vannacci's statements are frequently amplified by the media, which could either translate into votes for the League or spell trouble for Salvini if it doesn't.

The left-wing Democratic Party (PD) will also face scrutiny. Leader Elly Schlein aims to match the 19% of the vote it received in the 2019 elections to maintain her position. Further to the left, attention will be on Ilaria Salis, an antifascist activist detained in Hungary since 2023 on charges of participating in an attack on three far-right militants. She is now running on the Left/Greens platform.

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