who is Giorgia Meloni, the far-right leader who already sees herself “guiding the government”?

The legislative, Giorgia Meloni in fact “a personal battle”. And for good reason: this 45-year-old Roman, president of the nationalist party Fratelli d’Italia (“Brothers of Italy”, which is also the name of the national anthem), is in a good position to become the first woman to lead the Italian executive.

His formation is credited with 23 to 26% of the voting intentions during the ballot on Sunday September 25, organized in advance after the fall of the government of Mario Draghi. The right-wing coalition formed by Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia (Silvio Berlusconi’s party) and La Ligue (Matteo Salvini’s far-right party) would thus come out on top in the legislative elections, with around 45% of the vote, according to Le Figaro.

In 2018, it would have been difficult to imagine the movement of Giorgia Meloni on the way to establishing itself as the first party in the country. He had in fact garnered only 4% of the votes during the legislative elections organized that year. But four years of political crises (which have seen three successive governments, supported by three different majorities in Parliament) have enabled Fratelli d’Italia to rally more and more voters behind him. And behind Giorgia Meloni.

How the one who grew up in a popular district of Rome (from where she takes her “submachine gun flow when his speech gets carried away”according The world) did she succeed in this lightning progression? “Giorgia Meloni is above all a populist who feels good moves”, explains Alban Mikoczy, correspondent for France Télévisions in Rome. A flair acquired during a thirty-year career in politics.

At only 15, she joined the youth organization of Italian Social Movement (MSI), post-fascist formation founded by supporters of Benito Mussolini, report The echoes. At the time, the young activist willingly explained on French television that the Italian dictator had been “a good politician”. A commitment to “the opposite of his communist father”who left her family when Giorgia Meloni was only 2 years old, underlines The Tribune of Geneva.

The head of Fratelli d’Italia is now trying to distance herself from these roots. “It’s been years since the Italian right sent fascism to the dustbin of history, and condemned in no uncertain terms the suppression of democracy and the infamous anti-Jewish laws”she assured in mid-August, in a video in French, English and Spanish posted on Twitter. However, there is no question of (too) criticizing Benito Mussolini, whom she recognizes “Errors” while claiming that he has “much accomplished”.

“Giorga Meloni defends a very conservative vision, with ‘God, family and country’ as central values.”

Alban Mikoczy, France Télévisions correspondent in Rome

at franceinfo

If the emblem of Fratelli d’Italia (a red-white-green flame) is a legacy of the MSI, the politician assures that her party has nothing to do with the extreme right. But his program has several markers, list Release : fight against “Islamization” and illegal immigration, euroscepticism, “defense of the fatherland”, opposition to marriage and adoption for LGBT couples… “I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian”she summed up in 2019, during a rally in Rome.

His party is not the only one to carry these values. “Fratelli d’Italia’s line is very close to that of La Liga“, stresses Sofia Ventura, professor of political science at the University of Bologna. Matteo Salvini’s movement had achieved a historic breakthrough in the 2018 legislative elections, forming a coalition with the anti-system Five Star Movement (M5S) party to lead the country. But in 2019, the League leader decided to leave the government and blast this alliance. Since then, his party has continued to fall in the polls.

“For several years, far-right parties have collected nearly 40% of voting intentions. But there is a game of communicating vessels between La Ligue and Fratelli d’Italia: when the former drops in the polls, it is the second who benefits.”

Sofia Ventura, political scientist at the University of Bologna

at franceinfo

Because there is a notorious difference between the two movements. Since the creation of her party in 2012, Giorgia Meloni “was built in opposition”notes Jean-Pierre Darnis, professor at the Luiss University of Rome and head of the master’s degree in Franco-Italian relations at the University of the Côte d’Azur. If she occupied a “junior position” Minister of Youth in the government of Silvio Berlusconi, from 2008 to 2011, she has never been a member of the executive since.

Fratelli d’Italia is also the only party not to have supported Mario Draghi’s grand coalition in 2021. “Italy needs a free opposition”then justified Giorgia Meloni. Matteo Salvini’s movement had agreed to participate in this alliance of national unity. A choice that now plays in favor of its competitor.

To strengthen the dynamic of Fratelli d’Italia, Giorgia Meloni undertook to smooth out some of its roughness. “Like Marine Le Pen”to which it is often compared, “she tries to put some distance between her party and certain extremist speeches”, notes Jean-Pierre Darnis. She thus dissociated herself from an elected member of her training, filmed chanting “Heil Hitler” in October 2021, reports The world.

At the same time, the nationalist leader softened her speech on the EU. “She is no longer talking about leaving the Union or the euro zone”, nor to renegotiate the treaties, points out the Italian political scientist Sofia Ventura. She also condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine from day one, supporting Western sanctions against Moscow.

“Giorgia Meloni wants to portray herself as a trustworthy, less radical politician capable of leading the country.”

Sofia Ventura, political scientist at the University of Bologna

at franceinfo

The forty-year-old engages, again, in a balancing act. At the beginning of August, she criticized the foreign media for describing her “as a danger to democracy, to Italian, European and international stability”. Wrong, she says. However, she defends “a sovereignist vision of Europe, close to that of Hungary or Poland”, argues Sofia Ventura.

Giorgia Meloni also continues to defend her favorite theme: security. To launch her electoral campaign at the end of August, she posted on social networks the video of a rape that took place in the middle of the street, reports The world. “I will do everything I can to restore security in our cities”she then commented, attracting criticism from the left for having instrumentalized sexual violence for electoral purposes.

The Meloni method displeases the Italian left, but it works. In 2020, the British daily Times counted her among the “twenty rising stars” of the year. Appreciated by the media for her sense of repartee and her talents as a speaker, the politician sold more than 160,000 copies of her autobiography in three months. “This book allowed him to show a more human face, keeping strong convictions and a charismatic personality”observes Sofia Ventura.

During her first big campaign rally, on August 23, the one who “has a constant need to be the height” told her followers that she “thought he could guide a government”. This wish seems about to come true, if the right-wing coalition wins the legislative elections.

As often in Italy, the ballot could however hold surprises. Once the results are known, the president will consult the various political parties to designate the next head of government. But the Constitution does not oblige him to appoint the leader of the winning party in the elections. “There is a craze around the personality [de Giorgia Meloni]which the other parties took note of, believes Jean-Pierre Darnis. But it remains possible that another name will be put forward during these exchanges.

A Meloni government “might, like others before him, have a short life”, adds political scientist Sofia Ventura. Of the “rumors” are already circulating on a possible recomposition of the parliamentary majority, which would cause a change of executive. In this context, the implementation of the reforms demanded by the EU for the payment to Rome of 190 billion euros in aid and loans promises to be particularly complex. If she becomes Prime Minister, “the exercise of power is therefore likely to be harsh for Giorgia Meloni”warns Jean-Pierre Darnis.