A new stage has begun in Giorgia Meloni’s tenure, which started in October 2022. The relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump is upending American democracy, but in Rome, where checks and balances are being threatened, there are concerns about illiberal drift.
As she asserts herself as a key player in a global nationalist and reactionary movement with representatives from Buenos Aires to Berlin, the Italian prime minister’s position in public opinion also seems more stable than ever.
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Meloni’s party, Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), whose roots are in the Italian Social Movement founded by figures from the country’s Fascist dictatorship, currently holds 30% of voting intentions, according to polling company Youtrend on January 31. The FdI has surpassed its scores of 26% recorded in the 2022 parliamentary elections, and 29% in the 2024 European elections.
Clear endorsement
The coalition led by Meloni, comprised of far-right and center-right factions, commands over 49% in the polls. This reflects a strong endorsement of her persona and the values she represents from a significant portion of the electorate.
In a past phase of her political career, during the years following her party’s establishment in 2012, Meloni could have been characterized as a populist, opposing the system — akin to the British Brexiteers, Trump in 2016, or the leaders of the French far-right Rassemblement National party. Nowadays, she has become part of the system. The traditional republican institutions of Italy are portrayed by her supporters as cumbersome barriers.
Parliament is dwindling in power. The Meloni administration is setting the pace with a surge of decree laws reminiscent of those seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, as reported by Openpolis, an independent nonprofit that advocates for open access to public life data.
The Italian government is also in conflict with the nation’s judiciary, which is impeding “innovative solutions” in immigration policy, including the notably slow progress of Italian detention centers in Albania.
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