Analysis-Italy's Meloni belies radical image in cautious first 100 days
Send a link to a friend
[January 26, 2023]
By Crispian Balmer
ROME (Reuters) - Before Italian nationalist leader Giorgia Meloni won
power in September, German news magazine Stern put her on its front
cover with the headline: "The most dangerous woman in Europe".
Such was the worry that European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen issued a barely veiled threat that she had "the tools" to deal
with Italy should it veer from a democratic path.
But almost 100 days since Meloni took office at the head of the most
right-wing government Italy has seen since World War Two, these concerns
have largely melted away.
Despite her neo-fascist political roots and often fiery rhetoric, Meloni
has chosen caution over confrontation at home and abroad, promoting the
status quo rather than risk stoking tensions or financial crises, with
radical reform.
"We have seen something of a metamorphosis," said Sofia Ventura, a
political science professor at Bologna University.
"She has been more moderate with her comments than when she was in
opposition and has clearly understood that she needed to change her
profile to be a credible international leader."
Friend and foe alike say a significant reason for the softly-softly
approach is money -- or rather a lack of it.
At nearly 150% of GDP, Italy has the third largest public debt pile in
the industrialised world after Japan and Greece, and the dramatic fall
of Liz Truss, who quit as British prime minister just two days before
Meloni took office, revealed the dangers of crossing financial markets.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/26/images/ads/current/rohlfs_quarter_LUAL_2022.png)
"What happened in the UK shows ... how cautious we have to be with our
fiscal and monetary policy mix," EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, a
former Italian prime minister, said at the time.
VITAL FUNDS
Adding to the pressure on Meloni is Italy's dependence on the European
Union's recovery and resilience fund. Under the plan, Rome should
receive some 190 billion euros ($206 billion)in grants and loans so long
as it fulfils a series of reforms agreed with the previous
administration led by Mario Draghi.
Eager to avoid any misunderstandings, Meloni's first trip abroad after
becoming prime minister was to see von der Leyen in Brussels, to
reassure her that Italy would meet its obligations, despite the
reservations she had raised ahead of her election.
"It would have been unthinkable for Meloni to risk missing out on this
money. Failure would have been a tragedy," said Daniele Albertazzi,
professor of politics at the University of Surrey. "She behaved in the
only way she could," he said.
Her only run in with a European leader came three weeks into the job,
when French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Italy for refusing to
let a rescue ship carrying over 200 migrants dock in its ports. The boat
headed instead to France.
A government source in Rome said the row was caused by a
misunderstanding. Meloni's PR team thought Macron had agreed to take in
the ship and Tweeted to thank him. In fact, he hadn't and felt Rome was
trying to manipulate him, the source said.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/012623PIX/news_s43.jpg)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
welcomes European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at Chigi
Palace, in Rome, Italy, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo
Mangiapane/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/26/images/ads/current/rbctowing_quarter_LUAL_2022.png)
The pair have since made amends, officials said.
An EU diplomat, who declined to be named, said Meloni, who
previously spouted fierce euroscepticism, was sill looking to find
her feet in Europe and was clearly being prudent.
That same caution has been evident at home too.
LONG-TERM PLANS
Her coalition has yet to present any major reform and its skimpy
first budget ignored many costly campaign pledges. The government
also scrapped an excise duty relief measure that had been in place
on fuel since March 2022, despite once promising to eliminate the
tax altogether.
So far the Italian public has applauded Meloni's prudence, with
support for her Brothers of Italy party rising above 30% in the
polls against 26% in the September election -- more than three times
the backing that her coalition partners the League and Forza Italia
are drawing.
In a country plagued by political turbulence, the three ruling
parties have avoided any major infighting and are predicting they
will govern together for a full five-year term -- something that has
only happened once since World War Two.
Supporters say this means they can take their time on reforms, such
as introducing presidential-style government.
"We are working on a programme spread out over five years without
the anxiety of having to bring home instantaneous results," Giovanni
Donzelli, head of organisation within Brothers of Italy, told
Reuters.
Behind the scenes some changes are emerging, with the right-wing
bloc starting to place its own appointees in key positions, while a
planned overhaul of the Treasury could give Meloni and her allies
more power to shape state-controlled entities.
But Meloni's poll domination over her partners, who at various times
had previously led the conservative bloc, could create friction,
with the League and Forza Italia unlikely to accept playing the role
of junior partner for long.
A likely trigger for dissent is the League's push to give its
northern bastions greater autonomy, including more say over how
their taxes are spent. Such a reform is not appreciated by the
Brothers of Italy, which fears it could hurt its voter heartlands in
central and southern regions.
"Regional autonomy is going to cause Meloni a lot of trouble. It is
a very hard circle to square," Albertazzi said.
($1 = 0.9206 euros)
(Additional reporting by Angelo Amante in Rome and Michel Rose in
Paris; Editing by Edmund Blair)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jan/26/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png) |