Italian influencer goes to war with party expected to win election

Italy’s top influencer goes to war with hard-right party expected to lead the country after claiming they will make abortion ‘practically impossible’

• Influencer Chiara Ferragni hit out at the hard-right Italian party over abortion
• The Brothers of Italy are tipped as most likely to lead the September 25 election
• Ferragni claimed the party has limited access to abortion in the Marche region
• Meloni traveled to the region on Tuesday to boost her election campaign 

An Italian influencer has sparked a row over abortion with the hard-right Italian party which looks most likely to win next month’s elections.

Chiara Ferragni, an Italian model and businesswoman, is going to war with The Brothers of Italy — the party pollsters have tipped as most likely to prevail in the country’s September 25 election — over access to abortion.

‘The Brothers of Italy has made it practically impossible to have an abortion in the Marche that it governs. A policy that risks becoming national if the right wins the elections,’ posted Ferragni in her first public attack on the party.

She posted a link to an article by The Guardian, which said the council has allowed anti-abortion activists to work in family counselling clinics in the Marche region in central Italy.

While national policy allows medical abortions in Italy to be carried out up to nine weeks into pregnancy, the Marche region — controlled by the Brothers of Italy — limit abortion to seven weeks.

Giorgia Meloni, who leads the party, traveled to the region on Tuesday to boost her election campaign ahead of the national vote.

Chiara Ferragni attends the Schiaparelli Couture Fall Winter 2022. She sparked a row with the Brothers of Italy party after posting a link alleging they had limited access to abortion in parts of the country they governed

Ferragni posted the story on her Instagram page, hitting out at the party for its abortion policies in the Marche region of central Italy

Giorgia Meloni, who leads the party, traveled to the Marche region on Tuesday to boost her election campaign ahead of the national vote

Ferragni her own line of shoes and has teams up with well-known brands ranging from Guess to Gucci. 

The 30-year-old Milan fashion blogger launched The Blonde Salad, in 2009, before Instagram, paving the way for her career.

‘Now is the time to act and to ensure that these things do not happen,’ Ms Ferragni wrote on social media. 

Italian local media said the party — which relies on a primarily Catholic base to secure its share of the vote — restricted access to the abortion pill in health clinics when it came to power in the Marche in 2020.

The Brothers of Italy denies that the measure had a negative impact on the reproductive health of local women.

The party oversees 20 other regions of Italy, and pundits are pointing to its policies in the Marche region — which sits near Florence and San Marino —as a bellweather for how it would govern the whole country.

It comes after Meloni received widespread condemnation for posting a video of a Ukrainian woman being raped by an asylum seeker in an Italian city.

The video, which MailOnline is not showing, played audio of the asylum seeker assaulting a 55-year-old woman on a pavement in the city of Piacenza early Sunday.

Chiara Ferragni attends the Schiaparelli Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2022 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 24, 2022 in Paris. The 30-year-old Milan fashion blogger launched The Blonde Salad , in 2009, before Instagram, paving the way for her career

Chiara Ferragniis pictured attending the Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture Fall Winter 2022. She has her own line of shoes and has teams up with well-known brands ranging from Guess to Gucci

Meloni, who has called for a blockade off the North African coast to stop ships carrying migrants to Italy, tweeted the video, which had been posted on a newspaper website with the image blurred but with the woman’s cries clearly audible.

‘A hug to this woman. I will do everything I can to restore security to our cities,’ she said.

The rape was videoed by someone in a flat overlooking the street and the assailant was arrested.

Police confirmed the arrest and said the man was being detained as the investigation continued.

Meloni said on Facebook her rivals had used the rape to attack her while ignoring the victim to avoid addressing what she called the immigration emergency.

She is standing for election after current prime minister Mario Draghi announced he was standing down when three parties in his government refused to back him in a confidence vote in July. 

Recent polls showed her racing ahead of rivals with just over a month to go before elections in Italy. 

Meloni received widespread condemnation for posting a video of a Ukrainian woman being raped by an asylum seeker in an Italian city earlier this week

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