Could Italy get its 1st woman PM? All you need to know about the decisive polls

Italy Elections 2022: The Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni, is leading the opinion polls.

Italy began voting in a decisive election which is expected to bring in the country's first government led by far-right since World War II. The elections come at a time when Italy's economy- third largest in the Eurozone- has been reeling under the impact of the Covid pandemic with a debt worth 150 per cent of the GDP. Italy has had 67 governments since 1946.

Italy Elections 2022: A man drops ballots into boxes at a polling station during the snap election, in Rome, Italy, (Reuters)

Here's all you need to know about Italy Elections 2022:

1. The Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni, is leading the opinion polls. The party is considered far-right. If the party wins, Giorgia Meloni, 45, could become Italy's first female prime minister. Giorgia Meloni's agenda is rooted in Euroskepticism, anti-immigration policies, and weakening of LGBTQ and abortion rights.
2. The election is being closely watched in Europe as it comes just two weeks after the far-right made significant gains in elections in Sweden.
3. Italy faces the challenge of increasing inflation as the energy crisis continue to worsen in the country- an impact of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
4. Former Prime Minister Mario Draghi's coalition crumbled earlier this year triggering the snap election.
5. Giorgia Meloni's partners in Italy's center-right political alliance are Salvini and Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi- former Italy Prime Minister who recently praised Vladimir Putin.
6. The center-left coalition, led by the left-wing Democratic Party and centrist parties +Europe have been trailing in the polls.
7. The Democratic Party which is led by former prime minister Enrico Letta, strongly opposes the war in Ukraine and openly supports LGBTQ rights.