The politicians vying to lead Italy’s next government


              FILE - Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is reflected in a glass door as he leaves an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. A lawyer specializing in mediation, Conte, now 58, was plucked out of political obscurity to become premier in 2018 after the populist, euro-skeptic 5-Star Movement he now heads stunned Italy’s establishment by sweeping nearly 33% of the vote to become Parliament's largest party. As a premier Conte enforced one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/ Francisco Seco, Pool, File)
            
              FILE - Italian outgoing Premier Giuseppe Conte hands over the cabinet minister bell to new Premier Mario Draghi, during the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. A lawyer specializing in mediation, Conte, now 58, was plucked out of political obscurity to become premier in 2018 after the populist, euro-skeptic 5-Star Movement he now heads stunned Italy’s establishment by sweeping nearly 33% of the vote to become Parliament's largest party. As a premier Conte enforced one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
            
              FILE - Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi, wipes the forehead of The League's Matteo Salvini, at a media event for center-right leaders in Rome, Thursday, March 1, 2018. With his 86th birthday on Sept. 29, and Forza Italia’s popularity shrinking in recent years, the former three-term premier is not gunning for a fourth term but instead hoping for a Senate seat. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
            
              FILE - Italy's Northern League leader Matteo Salvini gestures as he speaks during a news conference at RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow, Russia in this Friday, Nov. 18, 2016 file photo. The 49-year-old League party leader had been the unchallenged face of right-wing leadership in Italy until Giorgia Meloni's far-right party took off. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25.  (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
            
              FILE - Italy's Northern League leader Matteo Salvini stands in the Red Square, with St. Basil Cathedral in the back, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. The 49-year-old League party leader had been the unchallenged face of right-wing leadership in Italy until Giorgia Meloni's far-right party took off. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
            
              FILE - Leader of The League party, Matteo Salvini, meets the media at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. The 49-year-old League party leader had been the unchallenged face of right-wing leadership in Italy until Giorgia Meloni's far-right party took off. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool, File)
            
              FILE - Italian outgoing Premier Enrico Letta, left, hands over the cabinet minister bell to new Premier Matteo Renzi during the handover ceremony at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014. Letta served as premier in a coalition including center-right forces after a 2013 election failed to yield a clear-cut majority. Today, the 56-year-old leader of the Democratic Party, Italy’s main center-left force, is Meloni’s chief election rival. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)
            
              FILE - Democratic Party's leader Enrico Letta poses for photographs after an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Tuesday, Sep. 13, 2022. The 56-year-old leader of the Democratic Party, Italy’s main center-left force, is Meloni’s chief election rival. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
            
              FILE - The League's leader Matteo Salvini, left, and Brothers of Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni address a rally in Rome in this Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 file photo. Riding high in voter opinion surveys for weeks now, Meloni might become Italy's first far-right premier since the end of World War II. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
            
              FILE - From left, Brothers of Italy's Giorgia Meloni, Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi, and The League's Matteo Salvini attend a media event for center-right leaders in Rome, Thursday, March 1, 2018. Riding high in voter opinion surveys for weeks now, Meloni might become Italy's first far-right premier since the end of World War II. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
            
              FILE - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, left, and Youth policies Minister Giorgia Meloni meet supporters during a People of Freedom party meeting in Rome, Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010. Riding high in voter opinion surveys for weeks now, Meloni might become Italy's first far-right premier since the end of World War II. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
            
              FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2020 file photo, Italian premier Giuseppe Conte waits for Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama at Palazzo Chigi Government's office, in Rome. A lawyer specializing in mediation, Conte, now 58, was plucked out of political obscurity to become premier in 2018 after the populist, euro-skeptic 5-Star Movement he now heads stunned Italy’s establishment by sweeping nearly 33% of the vote to become Parliament's largest party. As a premier Conte enforced one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, file)
            
              FILE - Silvio Berlusconi addresses a rally in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. With his 86th birthday on Sept. 29, and Forza Italia’s popularity shrinking in recent years, the former three-term premier is not gunning for a fourth term but instead hoping for a Senate seat. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
            
              FILE - The League party leader Matteo Salvini delivers his speech during the annual rally of The League party in Pontida, northern Italy, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. The 49-year-old League party leader had been the unchallenged face of right-wing leadership in Italy until Giorgia Meloni's far-right party took off. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
            
              FILE - Democratic Party's leader Enrico Letta speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Tuesday, Sep. 13, 2022. The 56-year-old leader of the Democratic Party, Italy’s main center-left force, is Meloni’s chief election rival. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
            
              FILE - Right-wing party Brothers of Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni addresses a rally as she starts her political campaign ahead of Sept. 25 general elections, in Ancona, Italy, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. Riding high in voter opinion surveys for weeks now, Meloni might become Italy's first far-right premier since the end of World War II. Italy will elect a new Parliament on Sept. 25.  (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)
The politicians vying to lead Italy’s next government