Heading into the 2022 Italian general election, a snap election that was called after the 2022 Italian government crisis,[54][55] it was agreed among the centre-right coalition that the leader of the party receiving the most votes would be put forward as the prime minister candidate.[56] As of July 2022, FdI was the first party in the coalition according to opinion polling,[57][58] and she was widely expected to become Prime Minister of Italy if the centre-right coalition obtained an absolute majority in Parliament, which would be the most right-wing government in the history of the Italian Republic according to some academics.[59] In an attempt to moderate herself to placate fears among those who describe FdI as neo-fascist or far right,[60] including fears within the European Commission that she could lead Italy towards Hungary under Viktor Orbán,[61] Meloni told the foreign press that Italian fascism is history. As president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party, she said she shared the experiences and values of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Likud in Israel, and the Republican Party in the United States.[62] Critics were skeptical of her claims, citing her speeches on immigration and LGBT rights.[63] A BBC News article from September 2022 referred to her as someone who "campaigns against LGBT rights".[64]