Giorgia Meloni\u2019s hard-right government on Friday becomes the longest-lasting in Italy\u2019s postwar history \u2013 a notable record that belies considerable challenges ahead of elections next year. In a country once a byword for political instability, Italy\u2019s first woman leader will have been in charge of the same administration for 1,413 days, one more than the late Silvio Berlusconi managed during one of his four stints in office.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is certainly a point of pride,\u201d Marco Osnato, a prominent lawmaker with Meloni\u2019s far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, said of the milestone. The record is likely to boost the prime minister\u2019s image as Italy, which has had almost 70 governments over the past 80 years, gears up for a national vote in 2027, analysts say. With FdI constantly topping opinion polls, it might seem Meloni is on track for a repeat of her 2022 win. But recent events have complicated the path to re-election, said Lorenzo Pregliasco, of the YouTrend polling institute.<\/p>\n
This year Meloni was undermined by a justice reform referendum defeat that showed voters there \u201cmay be an alternative majority\u201d to the coalition currently in power, Pregliasco said. The drubbing also raised questions about the government\u2019s record.<\/p>\n
With plans to strengthen the powers of the prime minister and increase regional autonomy, the reform was one of three flagship coalition pledges that the government has so far failed to deliver.<\/p>\n
And critics say results have fallen well short of expectations in other areas too. The government, which enjoys an ample parliamentary majority, has failed to tackle the structural issues that many believe hold Italy back, they say. \u201cThis stability was not capitalised upon,\u201d said Chiara Braga, the leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party\u2019s parliamentary group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt did not lead to any significant improvement in people\u2019s living standards or business competitiveness.\u201d Italy\u2019s economy is forecast to grow a lacklustre 0.6 per cent in 2026, while real wages have been virtually stagnant since the early 1990s. Unemployment has fallen from above 7 per cent to around 5 per cent over the past four years, but the number of economically inactive people \u2013 those who could work but are not looking for a job \u2013 remains high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government has primarily sought to survive\u201d by \u201cdoing as little as possible,\u201d said Tito Boeri, an economist at Milan\u2019s Bocconi University. Supporters counter that the administration has cut taxes and increased tax revenues, brought fiscal discipline to the highly indebted nation, and won Italy a more prominent role on the global stage at a fraught geopolitical time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to foreign policy, Italy has never been so central, particularly in Europe,\u201d Osnato said, noting that from a hardening of migration rules to energy policy Rome was now considered a driving force in Brussels. Politically, Meloni\u2019s coalition risks bleeding voters to Roberto Vannacci, a former general who regularly bashes migrants and LGBTQ+ people.<\/p>\n
His newly-created Futuro Nazionale party polls at around 7 per cent and could emerge as a kingmaker next year. But support for the ruling alliance, which includes the far-right League of Matteo Salvini and conservative Forza Italia, is buoyed by perennial infighting within the left-leaning opposition and increasing abstentionism, analysts say.<\/p>\n
Voter turnout in 2022 was about 64 per cent, a record low, and fell below 50 percent for European elections in 2024. \u201cA sizable share of voters is really disappointed and angry,\u201d said Giovanni Orsina, a political scientist at Rome\u2019s Luiss University. Italy\u2019s chronic issues have led many to believe that \u201cno one can solve their problems,\u201d he added. In August, Meloni was loudly booed at a sporting event in Taranto, a southern city home to a giant steel plant plagued by economic and environmental challenges that the government is struggling to keep afloat.<\/p>\n
Surveys show that the cost of living, a deteriorating public health system, security and immigration are among Italians\u2019 top concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Giorgia Meloni\u2019s hard-right government on Friday becomes the longest-lasting in Italy\u2019s postwar history \u2013 a notable record that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[325,5,29058,356],"class_list":["post-44676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italy","tag-giorgia-meloni","tag-italy","tag-policies","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}