Three years ago, Italian firebrand Giorgia Meloni was in Rome’s largest piazza, promising tens of thousands of supporters that she would defend “God, the fatherland and the family” from the threat of illegal immigrants, Islamisation and leftist politicians “bent on their knees, licking the feet of the French and Germans.”
Today, Meloni, president of the Brothers of Italy party, stands on the cusp of history, tipped to become Italy’s first ever female prime minister — and its first leader with far right roots since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. She plunged into Italy’s neo-fascist movement as an introverted and volatile teenager who had been raised by a single mother; now, as the country’s likely new premier, she will inherit an unenviable set of new challenges.
Italy’s economic outlook has darkened considerably since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and concerns are mounting about the sustainability of its massive public debt. The EU also faces an existential test as it tries to rally a united response to Russia’s aggression.