In Italy, after the fall in July of Mario Draghi’s national unity executive, the electoral campaign officially began this week. Crucial elections for the country and the European Union, which will take place early, on September 25. The leader of the extreme right, Giorgia Meloni, appears as the great favorite, leading the latest polls. If the trend continues, the president of ‘Fratelli d’Italia’ could become the first woman to come to power in Italy.
Interview with Michele Testoni professor of International Relations at IE University of Madrid.
RFI: Who is Giorgia Meloni and what are her political origins?
Michele Testoni: Giorgia Meloni is not a novice in politics, she has been in it for many years, she was Berlusconi’s minister in 2008 and since her youth she has belonged to the Italian extreme right. She was a member of the old post-fascist National Alliance party, which merged with Forza Italia, when Berlusconi created the People of Freedom party. When Berlusconi decided to recover the old name of Forza Italia, part of the old militants of that party decided to go back to the origins and re-established that old party with a new name: Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) electing Giorgia Meloni as the new leader. . She is an intelligent woman who knows how to move in the political world. Meloni is a media phenomenon, largely created by the media, and represents the latest expression of very strong electoral volatility, which has existed in Italy for nearly a decade.