Italy’s first female, far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has set a unique record of being in office for 1,412 days consecutively, overtaking that of conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was in office for 1,411 days spread over four terms.
Italy had witnessed political volatility with 65 governments rolling by in the last 80 years since the end of the Second World War. And most of the post-war governments have been socialist because the Italians had learnt the lesson from the disastrous fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, who remained dictator in the country for 20 years and more.
It is the first time that Meloni’s far-right, and openly fascist, Brothers of Italy, had come to power in the 2022 parliamentary elections. Meloni was prudent enough to trim her fascist wings as it were. She distanced herself and her party from Mussolini, saying that the fascism of Italy has been handed over to history. It is a way of saying that Meloni did not believe that fascism served Italian people in the present-day Europe.
Like a typical right-wing leader in Europe she was an ardent anti-immigrant politician. But once in office she stated her anti-immigrant position in a nuanced manner. She said that the immigrant should be able to integrate into Italian society, and that the migrant should have a job. If this cannot be done, then it is better to restrict migration rather than allow migrants whose life in Italy would be far worse than what he or she has left behind in the mother-country. So, she has not opposed immigration per se.
But she is saying that Italy should offer conducive conditions to migrants, and if it cannot do so, then it needs to stop migration. That is a clever way of stating the anti-immigration position. Meloni had also realised that Italy would need immigrant labour to keep its economy running, and that it would be unwise to close the doors completely on migrants.
Meloni had also been opposed to the European Union (EU), and she was in favour of leaving the EU like Britain did. When she became prime minister, there was much apprehension in Brussels. But on this issue too, Meloni changed her mind and shifted her position. She became an ardent supporter of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
She began to speak in idealistic terms about European civilisation and Christian values. When US President Donald Trump berated Pope Leo XIV for speaking out against genocide in Gaza, Meloni rose to the defence of the Pope like a good Roman Catholic.
Though she and her party had managed to remain in office for the last four years, it looks like that they face tremendous challenge in the next parliamentary elections due in 2027. It is not the case that Meloni’s right-wing politics has run its course. As a matter of fact, parties and politicians to the right of her own rightist position are attracting attention from the people. There is also the complaint that Meloni has not delivered on the economy. But there is an acknowledgement all round that Meloni has emerged as a credible national leader in her own right. After Berlusconi, the plutocrat, she seems to be the popular and recognisible Italian leader.
Meloni has shown passion and commitment. She has been championing the cause of conservatism with energy across Europe and America. Most contemporary European leaders are not fond of rhetoric because they know the dangers of rhetoric in the example of German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Mussolini that brought destruction to Europe during the Second World War. Meloni is not afraid of speaking rhetorically to drive home her point. This is something that people like in their leader. Meloni understood the secret.