Rachel Sanderson, Columnist

Meloni’s Influence Could Be Greater in Europe Than at Home

Southern Europe is ripe for the political disruption Meloni represents, but Italy’s institutions and coalition infighting may contain her extremist policies.

September 26, 2022 at 5:34 AM UTC

By Rachel Sanderson

Rachel Sanderson is a contributor to Bloomberg Opinion. She was previously a columnist at the Financial Times.

Italian election winner Giorgia Meloni.
Photographer: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP

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Giorgia Meloni’s triumph as the first woman to lead a winning party in the macho world of Italian politics is not a moment to celebrate, for she has brought the far right into the European mainstream, precisely a century after her Fascist forebear Benito Mussolini seized power.

It could take until the middle of next month to know the exact composition of the new Italian government. But polls on Sunday night crowned Meloni a clear winner. Italy’s new government is set to be a coalition led by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, joined by the anti-immigrant League and Putin sympathizer Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.