The EU elections last summer were just one sign of the shift to the far-right that is threatening Europe. With this shift, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been described as the new “Kingmaker” of European politics. Internationally, her firm stance against Russia's invasion of Ukraine has earned her the goodwill of liberal democracies on both sides of the North Atlantic.
Nevertheless, she is the best friend of authoritarian politicians – and Putin's allies, such as the authoritarian Hungarian leader Victor Orbán. Meloni entered politics in a neo-fascist organization. Yet she claims that her politics have shifted towards “center-right conservatism,” even that she is beyond politics. How far-right are Meloni and her government actually?
This is an important question. Italy is the fourth largest economy in Europe. What is accepted there influences the whole continent. Italy has set trends for a shift to the right before. Silvio Berlusconi has been Italy's populist head of government on four occasions since the mid-1990s. He led this upsurge long before anything similar gained momentum in the US or other European liberal democracies. Further back, fascism began in Italy when Mussolini came to power in 1922, more than a decade before Hitler arose in Germany.
From street fascism to prime minister
Meloni began her political career in a neo-fascist organization. In 1992, at 15, she joined the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement (MSI). This organization, often involved in street battles, was founded by Mussolini loyalists after the defeat of fascism in WWII.
In 2012, Meloni founded the Brothers of Italy party, which she now leads as the country’s prime minister. In June, the party's youth wing caused international shock when it was filmed giving the fascist salute at a demonstration. Afterwards, Meloni tried to distance herself from the incident, just as she has distanced herself from her own past links to Mussolini.
Yet many other members of the Brothers of Italy were members of the MSI as well, and Meloni constantly distances herself from fascism only to praise it in front of a different audience.
Meloni and the Brothers of Italy came to power in 2022 against a backdrop of economic problems caused by the consequences of harsh neoliberal austerity measures imposed by the European Union after the 2008 financial crash. One reason for the success of the Brothers of Italy was that, unlike other parties, they were not involved in governing coalitions. Now their party is leading a coalition of the hard right, which includes the far-right Lega and the right-wing populist Forza Italia, formerly led by Berlusconi.
Brothers of Italy's slogan is “God, Homeland, Family” and is reminiscent of traditional fascism. The actions of their government imitate this direction. Of particular importance is their party's attempt to change the constitution to centralize power around the prime minister, known as the “premierato". This bill is currently going through the Italian parliament. Here too, political scientists have drawn direct comparisons with Mussolini and his constitutional power-grab of 1924.
Under Meloni, Italy also advocated for an even tougher justice system, which, among other things, restricted the rights of prisoners and made it easier to arrest children. Her government is leading the way across Europe in criminalizing migrants and making them scapegoats, with Meloni often using the language of war by calling for a “Naval blockade.”
Her government has also restricted the rights of the LGBTQ community, including rights to have families, and further restricted women's access to abortions. Again, these are further fascist warning signs.
The language of fascism
In recent years, right-wing extremists – including mass-murdering terrorists – have drawn attention to the “Great Replacement Theory.” This conspiracy theory asserts that white Europeans are existentially threatened by mass migration, and that this process is being brought about by white liberal elites.
Meloni promoted this theory before her election victory. Her agriculture minister has since repeated it. When in power, Meloni continued to push the same idea, changing the language to “ethnic substitution.”
This shows how far the far-right discourse has advanced, that theories first associated with far-right terrorists (and mass murderers worldwide) are now being espoused by governing politicians. It also shows Meloni's characteristic of toning down her language – while still blowing fascist dog whistles.
Another change in Italy is that Meloni's party is undermining the post-war anti-fascist consensus, known as the “patto costituzionale.” Since the late 1940s, Italian politicians of all parties publicly denounced Mussolini and his cronies, who were kept out of public office.
Meloni and her party are breaking this political framework by continuing the same apologetic arguments of the MSI, the far-right party in which she entered politics. With an Orwellian flex, for instance, Meloni has complained about the far-right being excluded from anti-fascist commemorations.
Also, a well-known Mussolini sympathizer was the face for a new stamp. A George Orwell quote is apt: “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
Another sign of Italy's slide into authoritarianism is media freedom. Italy has fallen alongside authoritarian Hungary in media watchdog Reporters Without Borders rankings. State censorship – especially of Italian state television – has reached new dimensions in Italy, to name just one example.
By attacking media, oppressing and scapegoating LGBT, migrant and other communities, Meloni has a lot in common with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. She also has a lot in common with far-right and radical right-wing allies elsewhere. These friends abroad include Spain's Vox party and Argentina's new President Javier Gerardo Milei.
Meloni also has a close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump in the United States, and is likewise touted by him as another key ally alongside Orban in Europe.
Yet perhaps the greatest danger posed by Meloni is that she has deceived many people with her message of being beyond politics. Combined with the subtle tones of her dog whistle, this means that she is able to forge alliances and gain the acceptance of politicians who would not work with her allies.
How Meloni and her allies will fare in Italy is certainly unclear. But there are signs that the country has never moved as close to the course it took under Mussolini as it is doing now. And even if Meloni herself is not a neo-fascist politician, she puts herself in a position to appeal to and broaden fascism's political base.
