Genoa On a covered pier between Genoa’s aquarium and the old harbor basin, Giorgia Meloni gathers next to the campaign stage: she adjusts her blouse, grabs a hand microphone, and ignores the lectern. “I may have big shoulders, but I need yours to do it, too,” says the Fratelli d’Italia (FDI) party leader as she paces back and forth on the side of the stage among flowers in Italy’s national colors.
The 45-year-old, who is preparing to become the country’s first female prime minister, can speak softly and also show weaknesses. But she can also get really loud when it comes to issues close to her heart: “Stop the boats!” she yells at her audience, her voice cracking. Only migrants who immigrate legally should come to Europe. “And then send the others back!”
It’s the two faces that Meloni has shown again and again in recent months. One is intended to calm European partners and nervous markets, which fear a shift to the right following the resignation of Mario Draghi. The other is intended to serve their core clientele, which is made up of protesters, right-wing regular voters and post-fascist nostalgics.
It’s a balancing act that Meloni seems to be able to do so far: her popularity has grown steadily in recent weeks. Meloni’s party could get around a quarter of the votes next Sunday when Italy elects a new parliament. According to the latest polls, their desired alliance with the right-wing Lega and the centre-right party Forza Italia can hardly be prevented. How does the woman who could soon lead Europe’s third largest economy tick? And which of their two faces will prevail after the election: the moderate or the radical?
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If you want to understand Meloni, you have to know where she comes from: she grew up in poor conditions in a district in the south of Rome. Her mother tries her hand at being a writer, but has to make ends meet with odd jobs. Her father left the family early and went to the Canary Islands. Her mother once wanted to abort her, but then decided to have the child, writes Meloni in her autobiography. She has always opposed abortion.
The second family of the “political soldier”
At 15 she found her “second family”: she joined the youth organization of the Movimento Sociale, a radical and post-fascist party that was formed after the end of the Second World War. Then as now, she wanted to change the world – and as a self-proclaimed “political soldier” she immediately felt that she was in good hands. The men who surrounded Meloni at the time are still the core of their “Italian brothers” today, after various renamings and party foundations. Even the party symbol, the flame in the national colors, is borrowed from the post-fascists.
During her linguistics studies, she continued to rise in the hierarchy, becoming the youngest minister in Italian history under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: She was 31 when she took over the ministry for youth and sport. When the alliance fell apart, she broke with her sponsor – and founded her own party in 2012 together with old comrades-in-arms. At first they wanted to call them “Children of Italy” or “We Italians”. In the end, Meloni and Co. decided on “Fratelli d’Italia” (FDI), the first words of the national anthem, which translates to “Brothers of Italy”.
For years, the FDI has languished in the single-digit polls, with few MPs making it into Parliament. Meloni got her best result so far in the 2019 European elections, when she got 6.4 percent. The patriotic melody of that time is the same as it is today: Italy should no longer be one of the weak states in Europe and should defend its national interests more strongly. Italy should promote the classic family, needs a higher birth rate in order not to die out – and less immigration.
The slogans seem to be catching on with more and more Italians: Two and a half years ago, the survey results were in double digits. She will make what is probably her wisest decision in spring 2021. When the center-left government collapses, she does not join Draghi’s “coalition of national unity”. Instead, Meloni becomes opposition leader – and soon overtakes the other right-wing parties that have entered government in the polls. Political scientist Lorenzo de Sio is convinced that this paved the way for her: “From the opposition, she was able to push through her program without compromise.”
aversion to Germany
Going live on Sunday afternoon, Meloni is a guest on the state broadcaster Rai 3. Exactly one week before the election, she wants to sharpen her profile again – and talks about national sovereignty. “The topic is relevant, it’s not about hostility towards Europe, it’s about better organizing the defense of national interests.” You can see exactly how the countries are all fighting for themselves: when it comes to the price cap for gas, for example, which Germany does not wool. “Or to France, which no longer wants to export electricity.” A week and a half ago, on the cathedral square in Milan, she warned that “the fun is now over” for Europe.
This vision becomes even more concrete in her biography: there she wishes for an EU of “free European peoples”. And not a construct that wants to erase “national identities”. She has a “certain aversion” to Germany, and Italy suffers from the “Franco-German axis”. Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, on the other hand, which the EU downgraded to an autocracy last week, defended Meloni on Friday as “a democratic system”.
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Even if there are Mussolini nostalgics in her party and the Roman salute is said to be seen at events from time to time: Meloni has been playing down the fascism comparison for years. She describes herself as cosmopolitan and interested in foreign cultures. In her book she tells of her visit to the Israeli memorial Yad Vashem and describes the Holocaust as the “fall of mankind”.
“Meloni comes from a very radical background,” says de Sio, who teaches at the Roman Luiss. From the beginning, however, she understood that the old connections to fascism are more of a liability than an asset. “Not much will change with Meloni when it comes to the big lines, such as the connection to Europe and the USA and the implementation of the Corona reconstruction fund.” Reform the tax system, and the tone against minorities could become sharper.
Women are also likely to face greater problems if they want to have an abortion. In Marche, a region in central Italy that FDI has governed since 2020, pregnancies can only be terminated up to the seventh week – and not up to the ninth like in the rest of the country. The morning-after pill is only available in hospitals. And a mandatory “reflection week” was introduced, during which women should think about their decision.
“Meloni is a prisoner of her personality,” says political scientist Sofia Ventura from the University of Bologna. “We will see a lot of contradictions in her.” Ventura does not see the danger of a fascism renaissance. “But as far as individual rights and those of migrants are concerned, there will certainly be deterioration.”
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