Italy’s Meloni Is Seeking a ‘New Kind of Nationalism’

Statesmanship, thy name is Giorgia Meloni. Having surpassed the 1,000-day milestone at Palazzo Chigi, the prime minister plunges ahead on transforming the Italian republic. Even Time magazine agrees, devoting its cover story to Italy’s first female prime minister.Not since Alcide De Gasperi — one of the giants of post-World War II Europe — has an Italian premier been featured on the cover of this venerable publication. What’s more, the subhead on Massimo Calabresi’s article concedes Signora Meloni’s status as the Continent’s indisputable helmsman: “Where Giorgia Meloni is leading Europe.”In restoring the Magic Boot’s pre-eminence as a world power, Signora Meloni is taking Italy and Europe to the future. Giorgia Meloni is indeed the woman of tomorrow. Rather than recycling the shopworn policies of the histrionic left — and its knee-jerk subservience to the European Union — Ms. Meloni is rewriting the narrative.Indeed, Time’s scribe acknowledged that “Meloni is constructing a new kind of nationalism: populist, nativist, and pro-Western, but committed to European and Atlantic alliances. ‘First of all, we have to defend what we are, our culture, our identity, our civilization,’ she says, sitting with arms and legs crossed in front of an Italian flag. Where exactly that leads matters beyond Italy.”However, any mainstream press story about Signora Meloni wouldn’t be complete without an allusion to Il Duce. So, in anticipation of such a digression, Ms. Meloni posed a query of her own: “Is there something about Fascism that my experience reminds you of, about what I’m doing in government?”In other words, she wondered, why dwell on a long-dead ideology when the transformative Italy of today is pioneering a better tomorrow? Benito Mussolini’s Fascist state, moreover, cannot be replicated. And no one in her conservative governing coalition has any yearning to do so.Not only has Ms. Meloni repudiated the extremism of the past, but she is entirely focused on achieving substantive results going forward. And the International Monetary Fund concurs. According to an IMF press release issued last week, the fund’s executive directors “welcomed the resilience of the Italian economy, with strong policies supporting continued growth and record‑high employment.”What’s more, “A better-than-expected fiscal outturn in 2024 enabled a return to a primary surplus. Continuing the strong fiscal performance will be essential to place public debt firmly on a downward trajectory and strengthen resilience.”Signora Meloni has also embarked on a much-needed reformation of the most sacred of bovines — the Italian judiciary. Seeking to sever the unholy link between prosecutors and judges, the Meloni government put forth an amendment curbing the power of le toghe.Writing in the Financial Times, Amy Kazmin reported, “Senators voted 106 to 61 in favour of the proposed reform with 11 abstentions. The amendment was previously endorsed by the Italian parliament’s lower house and must now be reaffirmed by both houses.”Although the amendment will require a national referendum to become law, Signora Meloni hailed the accomplishment on social media: “The journey is not yet complete but today we reaffirm our resolve to provide Italy with an increasingly efficient, fair and transparent judicial system.”Not that a leader’s burdens fail to weigh heavily. Signora Meloni is anguished over the horrifying humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Although she has remonstrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu about the need for a ceasefire, Ms. Meloni harbors no illusions about Hamas.In the parlance of Cato the Elder, she believes Hamas delenda est — must be destroyed.Unlike President Macron, who recently announced that France will officially recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Signora Meloni finds such a snap decision to be “counterproductive.”She envisions a grand future, one that goes beyond our pale blue dot. Il Sole 24 Ore has reported that “the first home for the astronauts trekking to the moon in the 2030s will be an Italian one.”Sugnora Meloni’s minister for enterprises and made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, made the announcement that the astronauts’ multi-purpose abode will be designed and built by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, the Italian Space Agency. Mr. Urso underscored the significance of Signora Meloni’s leadership: “This is the result of a clear political vision: establishing Italy as a space power.”

Italy’s Meloni Is Seeking a ‘New Kind of Nationalism’

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