Who Is Giorgia Meloni and What Is So Scary About Her?

According to the Guardian, “the European political elite responded with shocked silence, and then horror” to Giorgia Meloni’s victory at the Italian elections. The New York Times described Europe’s feelings of “caution and trepidation” following the announcement of the results.

What is it about Meloni that frightens people so much?

Accusations of Fascism

The mainstream media routinely refer to Meloni as a far-right politician. A Guardian journalist has also labelled her “fascist-adjacent”. Is there a rational basis for these claims?

Meloni’s party Brothers of Italy is sometimes described as neo-fascist or post-fascist, due to its alleged connection to the National Fascist Party and Republican Fascist Party, both of which were led by dictator Benito Mussolini. The facts underpinning this assertion is that some members of the two original fascist parties founded the Italian Social Movement in 1946, whose members, in turn, created the National Alliance in 1995. Meloni was a member of the National Alliance until it merged with Silvio Berlusconi’s part Forza Italia to form The People of Freedom.

A faction of The People of Freedom including Meloni then broke away and formed the Brothers of Italy. The new party adopted the symbol of the National Alliance: a…