Prime Minister Meloni at the final Brothers of Italy campaign rally ahead of the European elections in Rome, on June 1.
Photographer: Stephanie Gengotti/Bloomberg
Giorgia Meloni’s Worlds Are About to Collide
While the Italian prime minister’s star keeps rising internationally, problems lurk back home with allies she can’t quite trust and an economy operating on borrowed time.
Italy’s prime minister knows her reputation precedes her. She’s also learned that can work to her advantage: “When they paint you as Attila the Hun, you might reassure people simply by being Giorgia Meloni.”
Though she takes a gentler approach to disarming critics than the fifth century despot, she has been swift to set the agenda in Europe. She’s won round a skeptical Joe Biden and earned the grudging respect of Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron. While the premiers of France and Germany were humbled by the European elections, she stands out as a rare leader on the front foot as she prepares to host the Group of Seven summit this week.