In less than a decade, the Georgia Melonithe head of the right-wing party “Brothers of Italy” she has gone from being dismissed as an ultra-nationalist to being elected as her prime minister Italy and establish himself as a figure that Brussels, and now Washington, can work with.
As he emphasizes in his publication Politicoeven now that Giorgia Meloni – who began her political career in the youth of the neofascist Italian Social Movement and praised the dictator Benito Mussolini as “a good politician who did everything for the good of Italy – has turned to the center »- is at the forefront of a wave that is pulling European politics to the extreme right.
Indeed since her election in 2022, the Italian prime minister has introduced policies on issues such as immigration and the rights of the LGBTI community that would once have drawn condemnation from Brussels.
By contrast, the reaction of European Union leaders has ranged from indifference to approval, with many accepting Meloni as the delightful representative who “blooms” on both sides of the Atlantic.
The inability of conventional politicians to deal with an increasingly popular extremist narrative and their willingness to work with Meloni on the European stage allows Italy’s 47-year-old prime minister, who insists on using the masculine form of her official title (Il Presidente del Council). In loose terms this is a strong man, capable of wielding enormous power at a time when the old continent lacks strong centrists capable of giving it the impetus to recover.
Meloni made headlines around the world when she became Italy’s first female prime minister, but few predicted she would last long in office. Pundits expected that infighting would inevitably tear apart her ruling coalition of right-wing parties, and there was little appetite for her in Brussels.
Top EU officials were unenthusiastic about the arrival of a politician who had campaigned on the theme of “patrimony, religion, family” and formed a government with parties close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But in the past two years Meloni has established her government as one of the most stable in post-war Italy. Although the country is saddled with a national debt equivalent to 137% of its gross domestic product, the economic outlook is not so ominous as to scare off foreign investors attracted by the unusually calm political environment.
Meloni’s carefully cultivated, spin-free appearance contributes to the image of stability. After the president of the Campania region, Vicenzo de Luca, referred to the prime minister as “stronza” (“bitch”) at a campaign rally, the prime minister appeared at an event in his region and greeted the opposition politician, declaring: “President, I am that bitch, Meloni. What are you doing?’
The inability of mainstream parties to counter the rising ultranationalist wave and the willingness of Europeans to cooperate with her have made the 47-year-old Meloni a powerful political figure who, in the absence of competent centrist and moderate voices, has the potential to wield enormous influence on the Old Continent. . Moreover, domestically, no one within the ruling coalition seems bold enough to challenge her, while the fragmented opposition openly admits they cannot face her.
Relations with Trump
But while Italy’s prime minister may be low on Trump’s radar, she retains a big fan in the new US administration: Elon Musk.
The owner of X in September presented her with the Global Citizen Award, describing the Italian prime minister as “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside” and adding that she is “genuine, honest and thoughtful”.
What relevance and influence she will have on Trump remains to be seen, but Meloni’s displacement to Europe is reinforced by the perception that she is part of a global political phenomenon of populist nationalists who are steadily gaining ground worldwide.
“For now, Meloni uses her influence mainly in Italy. The question that now arises is whether it will begin to make a show of force internationally and whether – with the new political conditions on the other side of the Atlantic – it will continue on the same wavelength with institutions such as the EU and NATO or return to its right-wing origins, challenging the status quo,” concludes Politico.