Giorgia Meloni’s latest cheerleader: The Economist
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Ms. Meloni held long meetings with Ursula von der Leyen and Pope Francis. These were seen in Italy as concessions from the European Commission, of which Mrs von der Leyen is the head, and the Vatican—two organizations that Italian prime ministers should always be in touch with. on their side.
The article goes on to praise Meloni for successfully passing the budget through parliament, winning over leading Mafioso, and keeping the markets booming. In fact, there are ‘great waters’ coming, but just three months ago, the magazine warned that ‘storm clouds’ were approaching. The bad weather is yet to pass.
It’s no wonder that a high-profile, tech publication like The Economist had its concerns about a national celebrity like Meloni. It spoke to the fears of many other liberal publications (and readers) at the time, who described Meloni as a neo-fascist, ‘fascist-adjacent’ and a Mossolini sympathiser. It fell to Meloni’s own opponent, Matteo Renzi, to tell CNN viewers that fascism was actually on the rise in Italy.
Since winning the election, Meloni’s coverage in papers such as The Guardian has dropped significantly. Perhaps that is because he has never been a risk-taker, but rather a conventional monetary and foreign policy hawk whose priorities are deficit reduction and austerity. aid to Ukraine. Even as he moved, he refused to block the boats carrying migrants to Italian shores.
As Thomas Fazi noted in these pages during his election, Meloni “knows very well that Italy is not an independent country, and that winning the elections is only part of the effort. Having the support of the European institution (and America ) is so important, if he wants to stay strong”. For some it will be a relief, for others it is a shame that Meloni was never the person he pretended to be.
