Italy’s Meloni Stands By Her Values and Keeps Her Eye on the Prize — Direct Election of the Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni’s values haven’t changed. And that’s a fact, not performative political theater. Nor will Italy’s prime minister ever alter her core beliefs or convictions. As Ansa recently reported, though, Signora Meloni acknowledges that “Italians want a government with the courage to change things that don’t work.”Such a belief is straight out of President Reagan’s playbook — to be supple enough to deal with new realities without sacrificing one’s principles. He switched parties when the Democrats abandoned his principles. Forging problem-solving policies that benefit the people and the nation is the goal.Italians want a cabinet “concentrating resources on what is important without wasting them,” said the premier. Plus, too, she wants a cabinet that “represents Italy in the world with authority and trustworthiness.” Signora Meloni’s priority is Rome — not Brussels, Paris, or Berlin.Though it ruffles the delicate sensibilities of the left, Signora Meloni puts Italy’s national interests first. She is an unabashedly national-greatness conservative who adheres to free-market principles yet isn’t averse to political compromise. Sometimes one’s cabinet necessitates a stern approach.The Meloni administration includes a roster ranging from the urbane foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, to the prickly populist-cum-former-secessionist Matteo Salvini, the infrastructure and transport minister. Both men carry the august title of deputy premier.Forza Italia’s Tajani, in his capacity as Italy’s globe-trotting chief diplomat, exudes the gravitas of a widely respected elder statesman. The Lega’s Salvini is a loose cannon in search of lost electoral relevance. Until he was slapped down by Signora Meloni, Mr. Salvini favored Putin’s Russia over Zelensky’s Ukraine.In the wake of the Ukrainian army’s recent successes on Russian soil, Mr. Salvini is now seeking to curb Italy’s military aid to Kyiv.In an attempt to lessen those tensions and renew the coalition’s unity, Signora Meloni convened a cabinet meeting on August 30.A joint statement was issued noting that the “upcoming budget, as previous ones, will be serious and balanced, and will confirm some priorities like tax cuts, support for the young, families and the birth rate, and interventions for businesses that hire” workers. Nevertheless, differences remain.One of these has to do with the issue of citizenship for the children of foreigners. Foreign Minister Tajani favors the ius scholae — Latin for “the right deriving from school’s attendance” — which would grant citizenship to those that have attended school in Italy.However, as Mr. Tajani averred, this “is not a topic on the government agenda and there is nothing wrong with having different positions on some topics between parties who are also allies and loyal.”A more nettlesome hot-button issue is the Calderoli law, or autonomia differenziata, which continues to roil the Italian body politic. This Lega-inspired legislation was promoted by Mr. Salvini, who feared being ousted as leader of his once-secessionist party.In devolving decision-making on education, health, public services and culture — including the financing of these areas — to the regions, the Calderoli law will increase and exacerbate existing inequalities between southern and northern Italy.The bishop of Cassano all’Ionio in Calabria, Francesco Savino, the vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference for southern Italy — opposes the law, fearing it will lead to greater poverty and a depopulation of the Mezzogiorno.Roman Catholics are a core constituency of Signora Meloni’s base. Rather than lending her support to this divisive law, the Prime Minister should have found some other tradeoff with Mr. Salvini. It’s a rare misstep on the premier’s part. She may escape significant political damage if a national referendum on the Calderoli law comes to fruition — and differentiated autonomy is voted down by the Italian people.Having successfully helmed the G-7 in 2024, Signora Meloni has an ambitious agenda for 2025. High on her to-do list is a reinvigorated economy. According to ING Bank the “preliminary Italian inflation data, just released by the national statistics bureau indicates that “the headline measure softened” — to 1.1 percent from 1.3 percent — over last year.Plus, “private consumption should provide a positive push, reflecting the favorable combination of resilient employment, 3.4% yearly wage growth and sub-1% inflation.”On September 2, the bureau confirmed that “Italy’s economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter from the previous three months.” Year over year, “second quarter gross domestic product was confirmed at 0.9%.” From “ January-March, the economy had grown by 0.3% on a quarterly basis and by 0.6% from the previous year.”To build upon such economic momentum — while raising Italy’s global profile and reasserting the Magic Boot’s leadership role in the European Union — Signora Meloni must keep her eyes on the prize: achieving the direct election of the premier. If that calls for the resignation of obstreperous coalition partners, so be it.

Italy’s Meloni Stands By Her Values and Keeps Her Eye on the Prize — Direct Election of the Prime Minister

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