For years, Silvio Berlusconi, known as il Cavaliere (the Knight), barely masked his contempt for his junior coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, who was brasher, less suave and far to the right of the former prime minister and master politician.

Establishment figures from Rome to Brussels believed Salvini, of the League, formerly the Northern League, could ultimately be kept under control by Berlusconi.

But on Monday, it was clear the Knight had lost his final duel, as Salvini’s party won far more votes than the media magnate’s Forza Italia in the general election.

It was a result that not only marked a definitive end to Berlusconi’s reign over conservative politics in Italy, but also showed a fundamental shift in the country’s political landscape. It is now far more rightwing, populist, anti-EU, pro-Kremlin, anti-Nato and proudly xenophobic.

During the election campaign, Berlusconi sought to adopt some of Salvini’s most fiery rhetoric, including calls for hundreds of thousands of immigrants to be deported from Italy. However, Salvini’s call to arms was seen as more authentic.

His rise over the years, from being a host on the League’s Padania radio station, where he took listeners’ calls, to leading the party, has been full of incidents in which his racist bombast attracted media attention.

He gained notoriety with calls to raze Roma camps and for defending fascism, suggesting there were positive aspects to Benito Mussolini’s rule.

After six migrants from Africa were shot by an Italian nationalist in the final weeks of the campaign, Salvini suggested it was the migration crisis that risked instigating violence.

Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst, said: “[Salvini] has the opportunity to shape the centre right, because without Berlusconi, Forza Italia implodes. It is a one-man show.” He also pointed to the League’s overwhelming victories in its traditional strongholds of Veneto and Lombardy, which contribute about 30% of Italy’s GDP.

Salvini has also railed against Nato, suggesting in 2016 that Italy could leave the alliance, which was working against its economic interests by challenging Russia.

In his first remarks after the election on Sunday, Salvini hailed his success with about 18% of the electorate, a significant jump from 4% in 2013, as “an extraordinary victory”. Forza Italia took about 14% of the vote.

The two parties had agreed that whichever won more votes could choose the next prime minister, should their coalition come to power, which according to preliminary results, it has not clearly done.

He said he had yet to hear from his “friend” Berlusconi. “I’ll do it later, but deals between friends are clear,” Salvini said.