ROME - The upcoming Italian elections Sept. 25 are fiercely disputed between two of Italy’s leading political parties and ideological adversaries - Brothers of Italy and the Democratic Party (PD). The latest Swg survey on behalf of La7 tilts the scale of chance in favour of the centre-right, illustrating an ulterior surge in popularity (up 1.2 per cent) for Italy’s leading party in the polling race, that is Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FDI) peaking at 25 per cent. PD also advances, (+1,1 per cent) albeit to a lesser extent, registering a consensus of 23.2 per cent.

 The concurrent ascension of these two political forces likely eclipses all the other minor actors contending for election, causing a horizontal diminishment in their overall consensus.

 In the centreright the League’s popularity which little less than a year ago approximated a vertiginous 21 per cent, as POLITICO’s polling data shows, and certified what amounted to be one of Italy’s most effective political machines, now continues to progressively wither in consent. A plunge in the data (- 1.6 per cent) is downward betting the leghisti to a total of 12,4 per cent. Forza Italia (FI) also registers a decrease in trust (- 0.3 per cent) fixing its consensus at 7.1 per cent.

 Given the waning levels of trust and the unrelenting crisis of voter loyalty in favor of defection strategies, a centre-right coalition cannot be ruled out. Its three foundational parties, FdI, League and FI could in theory aggregate a total of 44.5 per cent.

 Five Star Movement (M5S) is also drained of some of its popularity, survey shows. A drop (-1,1 per cent) for a total of 10.1 per cent confirms the downward trend, accrued by the sudden schism set in motion by Luigi di Maio, ex party leader, on June 20, with the creation of an alternative parliamentary group -- Insieme per il futuro, which at the moment totals no more than 1.5 per cent.

 In an another survey published by Quorum/YouTrend for Sky TG24 the distance between F.I, at 23,8 per cent, and PD, at 22.5 per cent, bridges the considerable margin. The League strikes 13.4 per cent, M5S at 9.8 per cent, while Forza Italia, 8.3 per cent.

 Concerning trust for other political forces, the Swg survey revealed an upturn (+1.1 per cent) for the conjoined Azione and +Europa, for a total of 6 per cent, whereas the coupling of Verdi and Sinistra Italiana records a loss (-0,02 per cent), dropping to 3.6 per cent. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva, enjoys a small rise in popularity (+0,02 per cent) to a 2,9 per cent, followed closely by its eurosceptic counterpart, Paragone’s Italexit at 2,8 per cent (+0,3 per cent).

 dm