🇺🇸 Hey Meloni, Politico Italiano

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Hey Meloni, Politico Italiano

Last Sunday Italian voters elected Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni as Prime Minister. Many news outlets have characterized her platform and policy goals as “far-right”. The fall of the Draghi government in July prompted this election.

Reporting from the Right: European nations shift right as economic woes grip continent (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: Why Republicans are elated by ‘triumph’ of Italy’s Giorgia Meloni (Al Jazeera)

From The Flag: Meloni has identified herself as a Christian woman and mother who will work to fix immigration issues. Some on the left have accused her of xenophobia and islamophobia in response. Here’s more from both sides.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Immigration Issue and PM Berlusconi’s Failures Ushered in Meloni

• While it’s understandably disconcerting to see Italy move to the right politically, Meloni is not a Mussolini redux, but rather she effectively appealed to populists and nativists regarding immigration.

• The Biden administration is treading lightly as far-right politicians assume power in Europe.

• Meloni’s rise is not due to her own successes but rather outgoing PM Silvio Berlusconi’s decline – as he can be compared to former President Trump.

“How the far right is surging in Europe” Zachary B. Wolf, CNN: “Voters in Europe have veered to the far right. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy political party is described in CNN’s report as ‘the most far-right government since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini.’ That description, invoking Mussolini, raises the frightening specter of World War II, although it’s important to consider where the comparison starts and stops. Meloni, troubling though her rhetoric might be, is a 45-year-old mother from Rome preparing to lead a coalition government, not a dictator in a military uniform overseeing a fascist regime. She is set to claim victory after targeting immigration, the favorite issue of nativist and populist politicians the world over. Where former US President Donald Trump rose to power promising to build a wall between the US and Mexico, Meloni repeatedly suggested a ‘naval blockade’ to stop the flow of people into Europe from the Mediterranean.”

“Biden Has No Ambassador in Italy as It Flirts With Fascism” Scott Bixby, Daily Beast: “Historically, the US ambassador post in Rome is considered a plum position for wealthy or influential allies of the president’s… and longtime warm relations between the US and Italy have typically ensured few diplomatic hiccups. … But the election of the far-right coalition in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections could upset the status quo in international relations between Italy and the United States, not to mention the rest of Europe. Meloni, who began her political career as the vice president of a now-outlawed neo-fascist political party, campaigned to become Italy’s first female prime minister on a populist and traditionalist platform of ‘God, country, family’—a slogan with deep fascist connotations in Italy… The victory of Meloni’s coalition is only the highest-profile success of far-right movements in Europe, but comes at a time when the integrity of the pro-West, pro-European alliance is of particular strategic importance to the United States.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The Lesson for America From Italy’s Election Jacob Finkel, Slate

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Media Cries Fascism, But Italian Voters Are Just Fed Up With the EU

• Meloni is being painted by the media as a “far-right fascist” but in reality, her positions are just culturally conservative.

• The populist movement isn’t going away as evidenced by this election, and Italian voters are fed up with EU leadership.

• As politicians like Meloni embrace populism, it actually strengthens the EU because cultural identities are being lifted up rather than national sovereignty.

“Is Italy’s Next Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, A ‘Fascist’? Hardly” David Harsanyi, The Federalist: “Giorgia Meloni, as you’ve doubtlessly heard, is the ‘far-right’ next prime minister of Italy. So says virtually every news outlet in the United States. And anyone familiar with the left’s perfunctory use of ‘ultra-conservative,’ ‘far-right,’ ‘hard-right,’ or ‘semi-fascist’ to describe those who take positions to the right of the Democratic Party’s latest platform, should be skeptical. Then again, trying to decipher European elections through the prism of American politics is a frustrating endeavor. But here is a cataloging, as best as I can pull together, of the claims used to portray Meloni as fascist: Meloni ‘bemoans’ the chronically low birthrate in Italy and wants to implement pronatalist policies. … defends Europe’s ‘Christian identity.’ … opposes gay marriage, which isn’t legally recognized in Italy. … opposes abortion and euthanasia. … opposes illegal immigration. … Meloni is a critic of ‘wokeness’ and the idea of malleable gender identity.”

“Italians have dealt another blow to the establishment” Tom Slater, Spiked: “Here I was thinking the populist revolt was over. After all, the neoliberal elites said it was. They pronounce populism dead every six months or so… Covid was supposed to kill populism, by reminding the supposedly ignorant oiks of the importance of experts. Then Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was supposed to kill populism, by reminding ‘nativist’ voters of the importance of international cooperation and the folly of authoritarian strongmen – something they are supposedly enamoured of. And yet those pesky voters just keep on electing the ‘wrong’ governments. …paving the way for what the media breathlessly call the ‘most right-wing government since Mussolini’. … Meloni has benefitted from two things. The ongoing fury with an undemocratic, pro-EU establishment… and the abject failure of the previous populist upstarts to pose any serious challenge to this failing status quo.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Meloni’s victory only strengthens the EU Philip Cunliffe, Unherd

FLAG THIS

After Meloni’s Election, Immigration Is in Focus

Polling conducted in December of last year asked Italian residents how well their country is handling the issue of immigration, which is something Giorgia Meloni campaigned on fixing.

The clear majority said the Italian government is handling immigration “badly” (73%), compared with just under 2 in 10 who said the issue is being handled “well”.

That said just 14% of respondents identified immigration as one of the top two issues facing Italy (YouGov).

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