Far-right Meloni set to become Italy's first female PM

BBC Summary

Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy - allied to two other parties on the right - are set to win Italy's general election.

It means Meloni is on course to become the country's first female leader - and the first leader from the far right since World War Two.

Speaking to reporters after the vote, she promised to govern for all Italians and said she would not betray their trust

She has softened her image and resents being linked to Italy's fascist past, but she still embraces an old slogan adopted by the fascists - "God, fatherland and family".

Her rival on the centre left - the Democratic Party's Enrico Letta - had failed to form an alliance with other centre and left parties.

The election follows the collapse of Mario Draghi's broad-based coalition government in the summer.

Italians are electing two houses of parliament - the Chamber and the Senate - and under new rules their size has been cut by a third.