Europe holds its breath as Italy prepares to vote in far-right leader

Coalition led by Giorgia Meloni would be country's most radical government since Mussolini

Italians are voting in an election that is forecast to deliver the country's most radical rightwing government since the end of the second world war, and a prime minister ready to become a model for nationalist parties across Europe.

A coalition led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist origins, is expected by polls ahead of the vote to secure a comfortable victory in both houses of parliament while taking between 44 and 47% of the vote.