Italy is set to elect its first far-right leader since World War II

A woman who has openly defended infamous facist Benito Mussolini is on course to become Italy's first female prime minister.

She will also be the nation’s first far-right leader since World War II.

Brothers of Italy party leader Giorgia Meloni is on the brink of seizing power as exit polls and initial polling are pointing towards an overwhelming election win for the far-right.

State broadcaster RAI says the bloc of Italian conservative parties have between 41 and 45 percent of votes, which is enough to guarantee control of both houses of parliament, Reuters reports.

Meloni has already delivered her acceptance speech.

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Now, thanks to her meteoric rise to leadership, alarm bells are starting to sound as the global community and world leaders come to terms with the fact that a political group with close links to fascism will have power in Europe once again.

Brothers of Italy has deep roots in the post-fascist movement.

Through amalgamations and name changes, the Brothers of Italy is a direct descendant of a political group founded by the supporters of the grandfather of fascism, Benito Mussolini, the Local Italy reports.

Meloni has even described herself as having a 'serene relationship with fascism' and defended the Italian despot in a 2006 interview with Corriere Magazine.

"Mussolini made several mistakes … Historically he has also produced a lot, but this does not save him," she said in 2006, before being named Italy's Minister for Youth two years later.

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But, despite her party’s close links with fascism, Meloni has refuted labels of totalitarianism.

Speaking again to Corriere Magazine, she said: "In the DNA of the Brothers of Italy, there are no fascist, racist, anti-Semitic nostalgia.

"There is no place for any of this. In our DNA there is refusal for every regime, past, present and future." 

She has also rallied against LGBTQI+ rights and has frequently promoted a far-right conspiracy theory claiming 'the left' wants to replace Italians with 'immigrants', the Local Italy reports.

But, despite a significant cache of evidence that indicates that the Brothers of Italy does in fact have a fascist heart, the people have spoken: Meloni is poised to become Italy's leader.

Although the election has not been officially called, the writing is so clearly on the wall that politicians from opposing parties have begun to congratulate her on her win.

Alessia Morani/Twitter.

Democratic Party deputy Alessia Morani said: "Congratulations to Giorgia Meloni, the first Italian woman to win the [national] political election.

"Meloni is the leader of the winning coalition and is about to form the first female-led Italian government."

She did admit that the Italian Democratic Party was licking its wounds after the far-right win, but vowed to 'talk at length about the catastrophe of the Democratic Party and the centre-left' in the wake of the far-right win.