Benito Mussolini

Elections may be around The Corner , but at the Ballarò market in The Sicilian capital of Palermo, The Passions are not political but culinary.

Calls ring out from traders slicing fresh calamari or tempting passers-by with the delicious local speciality: arancini, or fried balls of rice and Meat .

But there is little appetite for politicians here. Wandering through The Narrow stalls, most of those we asked said they would not vote in the election next Sunday: disappointment, disillusionment, and dishonesty were The Words we heard repeatedly.

Piling up ripe oranges and pomegranates outside her cafe, Sonia Capizzi was a rare exception: She has boycotted elections Until Now , but This Time is different.

" I can see things are changing and it's down to Giorgia Meloni , " She says, referencing the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who tops the opinion polls.

" She 's drawing me in because She 's A Woman , a mum, and has grit and charisma. "

In Italy's last election in 2018, her party scored less than 4% In Sicily - just behind what She garnered nationally - while the populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement came top with almost 50% of the vote here.

Four Years on, Brothers of Italy have soared ahead, with the right-wing coalition it leads now scenting victory.

Ms Meloni, 45, could well become Italy's first female Prime Minister - and the country's first far-right leader since Benito Mussolini .

Her promises of tax cuts and a hard line on immigration are gaining considerable support here. But her pledge to scrap a flagship Five Star policy, the citizens' Income - a social welfare system for those below the poverty line - splits opinion.

The poorer south of Italy has benefited from it most and it is still a vote-winner for Five Star . But some, like Sonia Capizzi, follow Ms Meloni's line that the policy has overburdened The State . " With the handout, people are just staying At Home and not working, " says the cafe-owner. " The government should have created jobs instead. "

That is a view also echoed on The Outskirts of Palermo, in the deprived Zen neighbourhood. The area is one of Europe's most impoverished, where unemployment is at 50%, and at 80% among The Youth .

Between their tightly packed apartment blocks, Domenico Finocchio and Piero Gambino peer at a field strewn with litter and Broken Glass . Beside it lie burnt-out cars and charred rubbish bins. Both men voted for Five Star in The Last election but now say they will cast their ballot for Giorgia Meloni .

" We want this area to be cleaned up so it's safer at night, " says Domenico. " You can't even get rid of the rubbish because it's swarming with rats. "

" We hoped Five Star would change things" says Piero, " but they were all talk and no action and there are still no jobs. We feel very Abandoned - and we hope Meloni will fix things. "

But Italy is as divided as it is diverse.

Across the country, in the northern city of Modena, plates of The Local speciality, Tortellini - Pasta stuffed with Meat - are being served up at the Festa de l'Unità, the annual festival of the centre-left. And here, the politics is of a very different taste to Meloni-land.

Speeches and debates Focus On everything from education to The War in Ukraine, and talk over dinner is about How To stop Italy swinging to the far right.

" I'm very worried about Giorgia Meloni - She 's the worst idea of A Woman I could have, " says Barbara Rosi, a marketing manager who has come with her family. " I'm worried She could touch our Human Rights , especially abortion. She represents The Past for me - Fascism - and She wants to bring it back. "

The Brothers of Italy leader vehemently rejects The Fascist label, stating recently that it had been " consigned to history".

But her party has neo-fascist roots, its flame symbol has been interpreted by some as The Fire on Mussolini's tomb, and a video emerged Last Year of some party members making fascist salutes.

What is clearer in Meloni's political programme is her social conservatism, particularly her opposition to same-sex families. " Yes to The Natural family, no to LGBT lobbies! " She roared at a recent rally of Spain's far-right party Vox.

That strikes fear into The Hearts of Christian De Florio and Carlo Tumino, fathers of four-year-old twin boys through an American surrogate. While The Children build Lego in The Kitchen , they tell me of their despair at what they call Meloni's attempts " to erase families like ours".

" Her strategy is to define Enemies , " says Carlo. " Gay people like us, transsexuals and immigrants are Enemies - and I don't like this way of expressing herself. She always seems angry with people that don't represent her idea of society. But I think in this society, there should be a place for everyone. That is democracy. "

Italy's democracy is firmly entrenched but has somehow constantly seemed unsure of which direction it should take. This political laboratory invented Fascism , elected a billionaire property tycoon and media mogul in Silvio Berlusconi two decades before Donald Trump , tried anti-establishment populism, technocrat governments, and now perhaps looks set to elect a far-right Prime Minister .

In its constant search for a political identity, Italy is again trying Something New , hoping perhaps it will finally bring change. But many here worry that The Leap into The Unknown could well turn out to be a very Dark Ride .

Source of news: bbc.com