Though the media are aghast at the prospect of Giorgia Meloni (right) becoming Italy’s next prime minister, the parliamentary elections on September 25th will reinforce the hallowed principle of popular sovereignty — the proposition that the ultimate authority of the state resides with the people (“The new face of the radical right is on display in Italy”, Financial Times, Opinion, August 19).
As modern polities go, the “seed of Aeneas” is a serious republic with a sophisticated, well-educated electorate. And the notion that Italians cannot be entrusted to elect their own leaders — a belief held by more than a few in Brussels — is as repugnant as it is anti-democratic.
Yes, Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party (Brothers of Italy) is decidedly rightwing, but the party’s fealty to Atlanticism, a market economy and the EU remains rock-solid. Moreover, unlike her coalition partner Matteo Salvini, whose Lega Nord began as a secessionist northern movement, the Brothers of Italy is genuinely nationalistic. Whereas the Lega’s founder, Umberto Bossi, was once convicted for insulting the Italian flag, Meloni fervently embraces the tricolore.
As for the spectre of Il Duce, Meloni is no modern-day Mussolini. Despite the commentariat’s rhetoric about a resurgence of the blackshirt ethos, there are no squadristi anywhere on the Italian peninsula.
Fascism in Italy has long since been cast into the ash-heap of history. Indeed, as Ben Hall notes “it would be a stretch to say the Brothers are a fascist party”.
More importantly, a victory for Meloni’s coalition might prove a game-changer in Italian politics. Should her rightwing alliance secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Meloni and co. could bring about the creation of a directly elected presidency via a constitutional amendment. Plus, if she ascends to Palazzo Chigi, Meloni would be the Italian republic’s first female premier, underscoring a major feminist triumph. -RAI
[This commentary appeared in the Letters section of the Financial Times on 23 August 2022]
The Italians have a right to vote for the government they want.
Give her a chance and if she doesn’t do a good job she will be voted out.
Many people see the damage done by liberal governments and the
people may want a more conservative government.
Italy is in need of a conservative far right government to counteract the hoards arriving from North Africa. Take a look at the dramatic situation on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
Many Italians I predict will vote her in especially because of the immigrant crime wave associated with “no such crime” in that “other culture”… especially regarding “attacks” on Italian women.
For those Italian Americans with Italian citizenship, vote the issues when you receive your voting materials from the Italian Consulates.