Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has served as
Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...
since 2022. She is the first woman to hold the office. A member of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
since 2006, she has been president of the right-wing to far-right
Brothers of Italy
Brothers of Italy (, FdI) is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Ita ...
(FdI) since 2014, and was president of the
European Conservatives and Reformists Party
The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party or simply ECR), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR, 2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE, 2016–2019), is a ...
from 2020 to 2025.
In 1992 Meloni joined the
Youth Front, the youth wing of the
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...
(MSI), a
neo-fascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...
political party founded in 1946 by followers of
Italian fascism
Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
. She later became the national leader of
Student Action, the student movement of the
National Alliance (AN), a
post-fascist party that became the MSI's legal successor in 1995 and moved towards
national conservatism
National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserv ...
. She was a councillor of the
province of Rome
The province of Rome () was one of the five provinces that formed part of the Lazio region of Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. The city of Rome was t ...
from 1998 to 2002, after which she became the president of
Youth Action, the youth wing of AN. In 2008 she was appointed
Minister for Youth Policies in the
fourth Berlusconi government, a role which she held until 2011. In 2012 she co-founded FdI, a legal successor to AN, and became its president in 2014. She unsuccessfully ran in the
2014 European Parliament election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...
and the
2016 Rome municipal election. After the
2018 general election she led FdI in opposition during the entire
18th legislature. FdI grew its popularity in opinion polls, particularly during the management of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
by the
Draghi Cabinet, a
national unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...
to which FdI was the only opposition party. Following the
fall of the Draghi government
The 2022 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that began on 14 July. It includes the events that followed the announcement of Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and former Prime Minister of Italy, that th ...
, FdI won the
2022 general election.
Meloni is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, and believes in defending "Dio, patria, famiglia" ('God, fatherland, family'). She is opposed to
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
,
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, and
same-sex parenting
Same-sex parenting is parenting of children by Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples generally consisting of Gay men, gay, lesbian, or bisexual people who are often in civil partnerships, domestic partnerships, civil unions, or same-sex marria ...
, stating that
nuclear families are exclusively headed by male–female pairs. She is also a critic of
globalism
Globalism has multiple meanings. In political science, it is used to describe "attempts to understand all of the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns that underlie (and explain) them". While primarily associated wit ...
. Meloni supported (but never enacted) a naval blockade to halt
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
, and she has been described as
xenophobic
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
and
Islamophobic
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
by some critics. A supporter of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, she maintains
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
views regarding the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU), views she describes as "Eurorealist". She favoured improved
relations with Russia before the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, which she condemned, pledging to keep sending arms to Ukraine. In 2024 ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked Meloni as the
third-most-powerful woman in the world and she was listed amongst the
most influential people in the world by ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine, while ''
Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' ranked her as the most powerful person in Europe in 2025.
Early life
Giorgia Meloni was born on 15 January 1977 in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy.
Her father, Francesco Meloni, was the son of Nino Meloni, a radio director from
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, and the actress
Zoe Incrocci from
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
. Meloni's mother, Anna Paratore, is from
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. Her father was a
tax advisor
A tax advisor or tax consultant is a person with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. The services of a tax advisor are usually retained in order to minimize taxation while remaining compliant with the law in complicated financial situations ...
and according to some political profiles had
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
sympathies and voted for the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...
, while her mother later became a novelist.
Her father abandoned the family in 1978 when she was one year old, moving to the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
and remarrying. Meloni has four step-siblings from her father's second marriage.
Seventeen years later, in 1995, he was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to nine years in a Spanish prison. He last contacted Meloni in 2006, when she became the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies. Legal documents have revealed an alleged indirect economic link through a network of real estate companies in which the ex-wife Anna Paratore, mother of Giorgia Meloni, was a partner at various times.
Meloni was raised in the working-class district of
Garbatella in Rome, moving there after the more affluent home she had first lived in as an infant with her parents was destroyed in a
house fire
A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various types of residential, commercial or industrial buildings, such as barn fires. Residential buildings range from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments an ...
a few years after her father left. Her upbringing has been described by her family as impoverished.
In her autobiography, Meloni wrote that her childhood and her family's breakdown influenced her political outlook.
Meloni has a sister, Arianna, who was born in 1975 and is married to
Francesco Lollobrigida, who has been
Minister of Agriculture since 22 October 2022.
Education and early political activism
In 1992, at 15 years of age, Meloni joined the
Youth Front, the youth wing of the
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...
(MSI), a neo-fascist political party that dissolved in 1995.
During this time, she founded the student coordination ('The Ancestors'), which took part in the protest against the public education reform promoted by minister
Rosa Russo Iervolino. In 1996, she became the national leader of
Student Action, the student movement of the post-fascist
National Alliance (AN), the
national-conservative
National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...
heir of the MSI, representing this movement in the Student Associations Forum established by the
Italian Ministry of Education.
In 1998, after winning the primary election, Meloni was elected as a councillor of the
province of Rome
The province of Rome () was one of the five provinces that formed part of the Lazio region of Italy. It was established in 1870 and disestablished in 2014. It was essentially coterminous with the Rome metropolitan area. The city of Rome was t ...
, holding this position until 2002. She was elected national director in 2000 and became the first woman president of
Youth Action, the AN youth wing, in 2004. During these years, she worked as a nanny, waitress, and bartender at the , one of the most famous
nightclub
A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
s in Rome.
Meloni graduated from Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci
in 1996.
After her election to the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...
in 2006, she declared in her
that she obtained a high school diploma in languages with the final mark of 60/60, and "Diploma di liceo linguistico; giornalista".
[*
*
*] This created some controversy, as Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci
was not a foreign language high school and was not qualified to issue any diploma in languages; instead, it was a Hospitality Institute (see '')'' specialised in issuing professional diplomas for job titles such as chef, waiter, entertainer, tour guide, hostess, depending on the course of studies chosen by the student. It is unknown what course of studies Meloni selected at Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci.
Meloni mentioned that the Hospitality Institute she attended became the Centro di Formazione Professionale Ernesto Nathan issuing diplomas in foreign languages. However, training centers are not allowed to issue diplomas. The Centro di Formazione Professionale Ernesto Nathan issues qualifications for beauticians and hairdressers.
Political career
Minister of Youth

In the
2006 Italian general election, she was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
as a member of the
National Alliance (AN), where she became its youngest ever vice-president. In the same year, she started to work as a journalist. In 2006, Meloni defended the laws passed by the
third Berlusconi government that benefited companies of the prime minister and media mogul
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
and also delayed ongoing trials involving him. Meloni stated: "it is necessary to contextualise them. Those are laws that Silvio Berlusconi made for himself. But they are perfectly fair laws."
In 2008, at 31 years old, she was appointed
Minister for Youth Policies in the
fourth Berlusconi government, a position she held until 16 November 2011, when Berlusconi was forced to resign as the prime minister amid a financial crisis and public protests. She was the second youngest-ever minister in the history of united Italy.
In August 2008, she invited Italian athletes to boycott the opening ceremony of the
Beijing Olympic Games in disagreement with the Chinese policy implemented towards
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
; this statement was criticised by Berlusconi, as well as the foreign affairs minister
Franco Frattini
Franco Frattini (14 March 1957 – 24 December 2022) was an Italian politician and magistrate. He served as the President of the Council of State (Italy), Council of State from January to December 2022.
Frattini previously served as Italian Min ...
. In 2009, her party merged with
Forza Italia
(FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...
(FI) into
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...
(PdL) and she took over the presidency of the united party's youth section, called
Young Italy.
In the same year, she voted in favour of a decree law against
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
.
In November 2010, on behalf of the ministry, she presented a 300 million euro package called the Right to the Future. It was aimed at investing in young people and contained five initiatives, including incentives for new entrepreneurs, bonuses in favour of temporary workers and loans for deserving students. In November 2012, she announced her bid to contest the PdL leadership against
Angelino Alfano
Angelino Alfano (; born 31 October 1970) is an Italian former politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018.
Alfano was Italian Minister of the Interior, Minister o ...
, in opposition to the party's support of the
Monti government. After the cancellation of the primaries, she teamed up with fellow politicians
Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), president of the Senate of the Republic since 2022 President of the Italian Senate election, 13 Octob ...
and
Guido Crosetto to set out an anti-Monti policy, asking for renewal within the party and being also critical of the leadership of Berlusconi.
Leader of Brothers of Italy
In December 2012, Meloni, La Russa, and Crosetto founded a new political movement,
Brothers of Italy
Brothers of Italy (, FdI) is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Ita ...
(FdI), whose name comes from the words of the
Italian national anthem
"" (; ) is a patriotic song written by Goffredo Mameli and set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, currently used as the national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (; ), after the author of the lyrics, or "" (; ), from ...
. In the
2013 Italian general election
General elections were held in Italy on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic for ...
, she stood as part of Berlusconi's
centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left c ...
and received 2.0% of the vote and 9 seats. She was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies for
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
and was later appointed the party's leader in the house, a position that she would hold until 2014, when she resigned to dedicate herself to the party. She was succeeded by
Fabio Rampelli.

In March 2014, she became president of FdI, and in April she was nominated for the
2014 European Parliament election in Italy
The 2014 European Parliament election in Italy took place on 25 May 2014. Italy elected 73 Member of the European Parliament, MEPs out of 751 European Parliament seats.
The governing Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD) won the elect ...
as the leader of the FdI in all five constituencies. FdI party obtained 3.7% of the votes, not exceeding the threshold of 4%, and she did not become a
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
; she received 348,700 votes. On 4 November 2015, she founded
Our Land, a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
political committee in support of her campaigns. Our Land was a parallel organisation to FdI, and aimed at enlarging FdI's popular base.
On 30 January 2016, she participated in the Family Day, an
anti-LGBT rights
Opposition to legal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people exists worldwide. Opponents of LGBTQ rights may object to the decriminalization of homosexuality, laws permitting civil unions or partnerships, same ...
demonstration, declaring herself against
LGBT adoption
Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children or adults by Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child or adult (stepchild ad ...
. At the same Family Day, she announced that she was pregnant; her daughter Ginevra was born on 16 September. In the
2016 Rome municipal election in June, she ran for mayor with the support of
Us with Salvini
Us with Salvini (, NcS) was a populist political party in Italy. The party, founded by Matteo Salvini on 19 December 2014, was the sister party of Lega Nord (LN) for southern Italy, Lazio, and Sardinia (where the LN regional section was never r ...
, a political party led by
Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...
, and in opposition to the candidate supported by Berlusconi's
Forza Italia
(FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...
(FI),
Alfio Marchini. In May 2016, she promised to name a street after
Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante (27 June 1914 – 22 May 1988) was an Italian politician who founded the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which he led until his retirement in 1987.
Early life
Almirante was born at Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia Rom ...
if elected, causing controversy among the local Jewish community and the anti-fascist association
ANPI (Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia). Meloni won 20.6% of the vote, almost twice that of FI's candidate, but she did not qualify for the run-off, while FdI obtained 12.3% of the vote.

During the campaign for the
2016 Italian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a Constitutional laws of Italy, constitutional law that amends the Constitution of Italy, Italian Constitution to reform the composition a ...
on the reform promoted by the
Renzi government
The Renzi government was the 63rd government of the Italy, Italian Republic, in office from February 2014 to December 2016. It was led by Matteo Renzi, secretary and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD).
The ...
, Meloni founded the "No, Thanks" committee and participated in numerous television debates, including one against the then prime minister
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
. As "No" won with almost 60% of the votes on 4 December, Meloni called for
snap elections
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
. When Renzi resigned the next day, she withheld confidence from the next government led by
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...
on 12 December. The 2–3 December 2017 congress of FdI in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
saw the re-election of Meloni as president of the party, as well as a renewal of the party logo and the joining of
Daniela Santanchè, a long-time right-wing politician.
As party leader, she decided to form the alliance with the
League (Lega), led by Salvini, launching several political campaigns with him against the centre-left government led by the
Democratic Party (PD), placing FdI in
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
and
right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...
positions. In the
2018 Italian general election
The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was Dissolution of parliament in Italy, dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of ...
, FdI stood as part of the
centre-right coalition
The centre-right coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left c ...
, with Berlusconi's FI, Salvini's Lega, and
Raffaele Fitto
Raffaele Fitto (; born 28 August 1969) is an Italian politician who has served as Vice-President of the European Commission, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Cohesion and Refo ...
's
Us with Italy
Us with Italy (, NcI) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative and Christian democracy, Christian-democratic political party in Italy.
NcI started as a federation of minor centre-right parties and, as such, was part of the Centre-right ...
. Meloni's party obtained 4.4% of the vote and more than three times the seats won in 2013. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the
single-member constituency
A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders.
In some countries, such as Australia and India ...
of
Latina, Lazio
Latina () is the capital of the province of Latina, in the Lazio region, in Central Italy. As of 2024, the city has 127,486 inhabitants and is the second-largest city of the region, after the national capital Rome.It is one of the youngest citi ...
, with 41% of the vote. The centre-right coalition, in which the League emerged as the main political force, won a
plurality
Plurality may refer to:
Law and politics
* Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority
* Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...
of seats in the Chamber of Deputies; as no political group or party won an outright majority, it resulted in a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
.

On 19 October 2019, she participated in the Italian Pride rally in Rome against the newly formed
second Conte government. In her speech, she criticised the proposal to replace on the
Italian identity cards of minors the wording ''father'' and ''mother'' with ''parent 1'' and ''parent 2'', concluding with the slogan "I am Giorgia. I'm a woman, I'm a mother, I'm Italian, I'm Christian".
This slogan was remixed by two Milanese DJs, becoming a disco-trash catchphrase with millions of views, imitations, and memes on social media, even winning a gold disc. By her own admission in her autobiography, the media and viral success of the remixed music video, having lost the original
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
intention in favour of the LGBT community with which it had been created, greatly increased her popularity as a politician, who she said was suddenly transformed "from a boring politician into a curious pop phenomenon".
In February 2021, she joined the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home.
Its stated miss ...
, an international think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., which includes many financiers, businessmen, and politicians, such as
Giulio Tremonti. On 19 February 2021, the
University of Siena
The University of Siena (, abbreviation: UNISI), located in Siena, Tuscany, holds the distinction of being Italy's first publicly funded university as well as one of the oldest, originally established as ''Studium Senese'' in 1240. As of 2022, it ...
professor Giovanni Gozzini insulted Meloni calling her vulgar names from a radio; both the President
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...
and the Prime Minister
Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...
phoned Meloni and stigmatised Gozzini, who was suspended by the board of his university.
In October 2021, Meloni signed the
Madrid Charter, a 2020 document that describes left-wing groups as enemies of
Ibero-America
Ibero-America (, ) or Iberian America is generally considered to be the region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former colony, territories of Spain or Portugal). Sp ...
involved in a "criminal project" that are "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime". It was drafted by
Vox, a Spanish
right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
party. She also took part at Vox's party congress, where she said: "Yes to the natural family. No to the
LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity. No to
gender ideology
The anti-gender movement is a global phenomenon that opposes concepts often referred to as "gender ideology" or "gender theory". These loosely-defined terms are commonly used by the movement to critique a range of issues related to gender equ ...
. No to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders. No to mass migration, no to big international finance, no to the bureaucrats of Brussels."
In February 2022, Meloni spoke at the annual
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...
in Florida. She told the attending
American conservative activists and officials they must defend their views against
progressives.
2022 Italian general election
Heading into the
2022 Italian general election
Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...
, a snap election that was called after the
2022 Italian government crisis, it was agreed among the centre-right coalition that the leader of the party receiving the most votes would be put forward as the prime minister candidate. As of July 2022, FdI was the first party in the coalition according to opinion polling,
and she was widely expected to become
Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...
if the centre-right coalition obtained an
absolute majority
A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below.
It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...
in Parliament, which would be the most right-wing government in the
history of the Italian Republic
The history of the Italian Republic concerns the events relating to the history of Italy that have occurred since 1946, when Italy became a republic after the 1946 Italian institutional referendum. The Italian republican history is generally div ...
according to some academics.
In an attempt to moderate herself to placate fears among those who describe FdI as
neo-fascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...
or far right, including fears within the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
that she could lead Italy towards Hungary under
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
,
Meloni told the foreign press that
Italian fascism
Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
is history. As president of the
European Conservatives and Reformists Party
The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party or simply ECR), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR, 2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE, 2016–2019), is a ...
since 2020, she said she shared the experiences and values of the
Conservative Party in the United Kingdom,
Likud
Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
in Israel, and the
Republican Party in the United States. Critics were sceptical of her claims, citing her speeches on LGBT rights.
She campaigned for lower taxes, less European bureaucracy, and a halt to
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
through a
naval blockade
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...
,
saying she would put
national interests
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government.
Etymology
The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni del ...
first.

In a record-low
voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
election,
exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working fo ...
s projected that the centre-right coalition would win a majority of seats in the 2022 general election.
Meloni was projected to be the winner of the election with FdI receiving a plurality of seats, and per agreement with the centre-right coalition, which held that the largest party in the coalition would nominate the next prime minister, she was the frontrunner and would become the country's first female prime minister.
The
PD, head of the
centre-left coalition
The centre-left coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1995, when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left coalition has ruled the c ...
, conceded defeat shortly after the exit polls, and Hungary's Orbán, Poland's
Mateusz Morawiecki
Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who served as the prime minister of Poland between 2017 and 2023. A member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, he previously served in the Cabinet of ...
, United Kingdom's
Liz Truss
Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth da ...
, and
Marine Le Pen
Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...
, former leader of
National Rally
The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...
(RN) in France, congratulated Meloni. European
radical right parties and leaders, such as
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...
and Vox, also celebrated Meloni's results.
After many years of absence from politics,
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is a retired Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian ...
, former leader of the MSI and AN during the early years of Meloni's political career, expressed satisfaction for her victory, said he had voted for her party, and described her as an anti-fascist, despite her rejection of the label, which she considers to be political.
Observers have debated how right-wing a Meloni-led government would be, and which label and position on the political spectrum would be more accurate or realistic. Many variously described it as Italy's first far-right-led government since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
and Meloni as the first far-right leader since
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, and some academics also described it as the most right-wing government since 1945. Many questioned its direction, citing Berlusconi's and Salvini's Russian ties, in contrast to Meloni's
Atlanticism
Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism or North Atlanticism, is the ideology which advocates a close alliance between nations in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and in Europe on political, economic, and defense issues. The te ...
.
Others, such as
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
, while citing Meloni's and her party's neo-fascist roots, disagreed with the far-right label and said: "Giorgia Meloni is not a fascist."
Steve Sedwick of
CNBC
CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
summarised the discussion, saying: "Have we got a centre-right coalition, have we got a right coalition, have we got a far-right coalition, or have we got a fascist coalition? I have seen all four printed, depending on who you read."
Prime Minister of Italy
Government formation
Immediately after the first meeting of the new legislature, tensions began to grow within the centre-right coalition. On 13 October, Berlusconi refused to support
Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), president of the Senate of the Republic since 2022 President of the Italian Senate election, 13 Octob ...
, FdI's candidacy to be
president of the Senate of the Republic. He succeeded in being elected by obtaining 116 votes out of 206 in the first round thanks to the support from opposition parties to the centre-right coalition. Tensions further grew, in particular between Berlusconi and Meloni, whom Berlusconi described as "patronising, overbearing, arrogant ...
ndoffensive" in a series of written notes in the Senate. In the following days, after meetings between parties' leader, tensions loosened and the centre-right coalition parties reached an agreement on the formation of the new cabinet.
On 20 October, consultations between President
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...
and parties officially began. On the following day, delegates from FdI, the League, FI, and
Civics of Italy
Civics of Italy (, Cd'I), officially Civics of Italy – UDC – Us Moderates ( Us with Italy, Coraggio Italia, Italy in the Centre) – MAIE – Popular Centre (), is a centre-right parliamentary group in the Senate of the Republic, establ ...
–
Us Moderates
Us Moderates (, NM) is a centrist political party in Italy, led by Maurizio Lupi.
The party has had several associated members and regional partners. At the European level, it is a member of the European People's Party. Most of NM's members and e ...
–
MAIE, announced to Mattarella they had reached an agreement to form a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with Meloni as
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. In the afternoon, Mattarella summoned Meloni to the
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...
, asking her to form a new government. She accepted the task and on the same day announced the composition of
her cabinet, which was officially sworn in on 22 October. She is the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of Italy.
On 25 October, Meloni gave her first official speech as Prime Minister in front of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, before the
confidence vote
A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
on her cabinet. During her speech, she stressed the weight of being the first woman to serve as head of the Italian government. She thanked several Italian women including
Tina Anselmi,
Samantha Cristoforetti
Samantha Cristoforetti (; born 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Astronaut Corps, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the second of two Women in space, women sent into space by ESA and ...
,
Grazia Deledda
Grazia Maria Cosima Damiana Deledda (; or Gràtzia Deledda ; 27 September 1871 – 15 August 1936) was an Italian writer who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1926 "for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity p ...
,
Oriana Fallaci
Oriana Fallaci (; 29 June 1929 – 15 September 2006) was an Italian journalist and author. A member of the Italian resistance movement during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for h ...
,
Nilde Iotti
Leonilde "Nilde" Iotti (; 10 April 1920 – 4 December 1999) was an Italian politician, member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). Towards the end of World War Two, she fought as a partisan for the Italian resistance. She was the first and o ...
,
Rita Levi-Montalcini
Rita Levi-Montalcini ( , ; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor ( ...
, and
Maria Montessori
Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( ; ; 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952) was an Italians, Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education (the Montessori method) and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early a ...
, who she said, "with the boards of their own examples, built the ladder that today allows me to climb and break the heavy
glass ceiling
A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
placed over our heads". The government won the confidence vote with a comfortable majority in both houses.
Domestic policies

One of the first measures implemented by the government regarded
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
and concerned with the complete removal of the
COVID-19 vaccination certificate, known in Italy as the Green Pass; moreover, non-vaccinated doctors were re-integrated into service. By this time, the government's workforce vaccination mandate had been in place for over one year, rendering the edict largely symbolic. On 31 October, the government approved a decree providing for a penalty of up to six years of imprisonment for illegal parties and rallies. Despite being officially presented as a decree against illegal
rave parties, the law was applicable to any illegal gathering that the public authority deemed dangerous, which garnered criticism, including from jurist Vitalba Azzolini. The decree also caused a lot of protests from opposition parties and civil rights associations, and was also contested by FI. According to
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, the decree "risked undermining the right to peaceful protest". The Meloni government has rejected the accusations and announced that it will accept minor changes to the text in Parliament. In the first weeks after taking office, Meloni implemented stricter policies than previous governments regarding the fight against
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
.
From an economic point of view, Meloni and her government have decided to prevent the increase in energy prices, in continuity with her predecessor
Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...
, by lowering prices, giving subsidies to families and businesses and making new drilling decisions in the Italian seas to increase national gas production. The government decided also to increase the cash ceiling from €2,000 to €5,000.

On 26 February 2023, a
boat carrying migrants sank amidst harsh weather conditions while trying to land on the coast of Steccato di Cutro, near
Crotone
Crotone (; ; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy.
Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( or ; ), it became a great Greek city, home of the renowned mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras amongst other famous citizens, and one ...
, Calabria. The boat was carrying between 143 and 200 migrants when it sank, of whom at least 86 died, including 12 children, becoming one of the deadliest naval disasters in recent years. Meloni expressed her "deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers", and condemned the "exchange" of migrants' lives for "the 'price' of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect for a safe voyage".
On 1 March 2023, the new leader of the Democratic Party,
Elly Schlein
Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein (; born 4 May 1985) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the secretary of the Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD) since 12 March 2023. She is a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Ch ...
, as well as
More Europe
More Europe ( or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-European political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
History Foundation
More Europe was laun ...
and
Greens and Left Alliance
The Greens and Left Alliance (, AVS) is a left-wing political alliance active in Italy, which was launched on 2 July 2022 as a federation of two political parties, Italian Left (SI) and Green Europe (EV).
The AVS is often referred to as a red– ...
asked for the resignation of interior minister
Matteo Piantedosi.

In May 2023, the government had to face
severe floods which affected
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...
region, killing 17 people and displacing 50,000 others. The provisional cost of the damage caused by the floods amounts to more than
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
10 billion (
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
11 billion). On 23 May, Italy's
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
officially announced the approval of the first law decree in response to the emergency, an estimated €2 billion recovery package that was aimed to public and private businesses, schools, universities, museums and farm workers, among other categories. On 25 May, Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, visited the flooded areas along with Bonaccini. Meloni underlined the strong spirit of the Romagnol people, stating: "Usually, when you lose everything, the prevailing feeling is anger, blame-seeking, or resignation. In Emilia-Romagna I found people shoveling mud with pride in their eyes, saying: all right, we have a problem, but we will solve it, we will rebuild." After weeks of tension within the government and between majority and opposition parties,
on 27 June 2023 the Meloni cabinet officially appointed army corps general
Francesco Paolo Figliuolo as Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction.
On 12 August 2024, Meloni characterised as "surrealist" the court case initiated by the European Commission over the Italian government's social policy that favoured Italians over recent non-citizen immigrants.
Constitutional reform
In late December 2022, Meloni announced that
Elisabetta Casellati, Minister for Constitutional Reforms, would meet with the opposition parties to officially begin the roadmap towards a constitutional reform to strengthen the powers of the Prime Minister, even if the coalition's electoral program included only the direct election of the president.
On 3 November 2023, Meloni officially presented the reform which provided the direct election of the Prime Minister by popular vote, the so-called ''premierato'', and a new electoral law which gave 55% of parliamentary seats in both houses to the coalition that arrives first in the general election. Following new legislation in Italy passed by the Meloni government, only a child's biological parent can be named on their birth certificate.
Foreign policy

The first foreign leader met by Meloni was the French president
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
, who was in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
on 23 October 2023 to meet President
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...
and
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
, and had a bilateral meeting with Meloni, primarily focused on the ongoing energy crisis and the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. On 3 November 2023, Meloni met
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) leaders such as
Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
,
Charles Michel
Charles Michel (; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Miche ...
,
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...
,
Roberta Metsola
Roberta Metsola (; ; born 18 January 1979) is a Malta, Maltese politician who has served as the president of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist Party (PN) and the European ...
, and other politicians in Brussels.
On 7 November 2023, Meloni took part in her first international summit, the
United Nations COP27 in
Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. During her speech, Meloni stated: "Italy remains strongly convinced of its commitment to decarbonisation in compliance with the
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
. We must diversify energy suppliers, in close collaboration with African countries." During the conference, the prime minister also had a bilateral meeting with the Egyptian president
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014.
After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...
. In the following week, Meloni participated in the
G20
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stabil ...
summit in
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
, Indonesia, where she had her first bilateral meeting with the U.S. president
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
on 15 November 2023.

In January 2023, Meloni visited
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, where she met President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Abdelmadjid Tebboune (; born 17 November 1945) is an Algerian politician currently serving as the president of Algeria since December 2019 and as minister of defence.
Tebboune took over the power from former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and f ...
with whom she signed a deal regarding gas supply to Italy. Thanks to this deal, Algeria will become Italy's largest gas supplier.
On 22 February 2023, Meloni visited
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and met with President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
to discuss about the ongoing
Russian invasion. Meloni also visited
Bucha, in the suburbs of
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, where the Russian forces
killed more than 400 Ukrainians in March 2022. Meloni stressed that Ukraine can count on Italy, adding, "we have been with Ukraine from the beginning and will be until the end." She was an ally of Polish Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki
Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki (; born 20 June 1968) is a Polish economist, historian and politician who served as the prime minister of Poland between 2017 and 2023. A member of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, he previously served in the Cabinet of ...
and has praised
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
's support for Ukraine and Poland's acceptance of large numbers of
Ukrainian refugees. On 2 March 2023, Meloni visited
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, where she met Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
and President
Droupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu (born Durgi Biranchi Tudu; 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 Indian presidential election, 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party ...
. During a press conference, Meloni praised Modi and his policies, describing him as the "most loved leader in the world". In March 2023, she hosted
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
in Rome.
In April 2023, Meloni had an official visit in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, where she met Prime Minister
Abiy Ahmed
Abiy Ahmed Ali (; ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018 and the leader of the Prosperity Party since 2019. He rose through the ranks of government via the Information Networ ...
and Somali president
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somali language, Somali: ''Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud''; ; born 29 November 1955) is a Somali politician serving as the president of Somalia since 15 May 2022. He previously held the office from 2012 to 2017.
Hassan was previo ...
. In
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
, Meloni announced the so-called "
Mattei Plan" by the Italian government regarding investments in the African continent. Meloni was the first Western leader to visit Ethiopia since the end of the
Tigray War. During the visit, she also had a bilateral meeting with the chair of the
African Union Commission
The African Union Commission (AUC) acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union. It is headed by a chairperson and consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of policy.
The African ...
Moussa Faki. In May 2023, Meloni attended the
49th G7 summit
The 49th G7 summit was held from 19 to 21 May 2023 in the city of Hiroshima in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Leaders of G7 countries joined in Hiroshima to discuss a number of challenges to peace and prosperity facing the global order while consulting w ...
in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
, Japan. On 16 July, Prime Minister Meloni, along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO since October 2024. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, prime minister of the Neth ...
, travelled to
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
in order to sign an agreement with President
Kais Saied
Kais Saied ( ; born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian politician, jurist and retired assistant professor of law currently serving as the fifth president of Tunisia since October 2019. He was president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional ...
regarding the strengthening of the economic partnership between Europe and Tunisia, the European diplomatic support for the disbursement of the loan from
IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...
and, especially, the fight against irregular migration flows. She considered withdrawing from China's
Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), known in China as the One Belt One Road and sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the government of China in 2013 to invest in more t ...
.
In July 2023, she had an official trip to the United States. On 27 July, Meloni visited the
U.S. Capitol where she met with
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...
and Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
and Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
. Later she met with U.S. president
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, where they discussed about many issues, including
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
. They also talked about the strengthening of economic exchange between the two countries, trade relations between Europe and U.S., security policies and the forthcoming G7 Italian presidency. During the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, Meloni stated her support for "Israel's full right to defend itself in accordance with international law, and to live in peace". In October 2024, she condemned Israeli attacks on
UNIFIL
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...
bases in
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
.
On 28 April 2024, Meloni announced that she would run for a seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
in elections due to be held in
June
June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...
. In the election, her party remained the most voted in the country with 28.8% of votes, and Meloni became the most voted candidate in the election.
From 13 to 15 June, Meloni hosted the
50th G7 summit in
Borgo Egnazia, Apulia. The topics discussed included the ongoing wars in Ukraine and
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
,
Climate Change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, migration, and the economy.
Francis
Francis may refer to:
People and characters
*Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025)
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Francis (surname)
* Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
became the first
pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
to address a G7 summit.
On 18 October 2024, Meloni traveled to
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
and assured the solidarity of Italy with Lebanon and
UNIFIL
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...
in the
current conflict. In a joint statement to the press with Lebanese acting Prime Minister
Najib Mikati
Najib Azmi Mikati (born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman who served as the 52nd prime minister of Lebanon from 2021 to 2025. He previously served in this post as the 48th and 45th prime minister from 2011 to 2014 and i ...
she concluded: "To conclude - you prime minister you know you can always count on Italy. We will do all that is in our power to return peace and prosperity to this friend nation." (original, she spoke in English)

On 19 December 2024, the Italian journalist
Cecilia Sala was arrested in
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
and put in solitary confinement in
Evin Prison
Evin Prison () is a prison located in the Evin neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. The prison has been the primary site for detaining Iran's political prisoners since 1972, before and after the Iranian Revolution, in a purpose-built wing nicknamed "E ...
. This became known only on 27 December. On 30 December, Iran's Ministry of Culture finally confirmed that they had arrested her for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic". Her arrest came three days after Italy arrested Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi at
Milan Malpensa Airport
Milan Malpensa Airport "Silvio Berlusconi" is an international airport in Ferno, in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. It is the largest airport in northern Italy, serving Lombardy, Piedmont, and Liguria, as well as the Swiss canton of T ...
at the request of the United States, which accused him, together with an accomplice arrested in the country, of conspiring to circumvent embargoes and supplying sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran.
On 3 January 2025, Iran reportedly asked for a
prisoner swap
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange.
Geneva Conventions
Under the Geneva Conve ...
. On 8 January 2025, Meloni announced that Sala had been released by Iranian authorities and had left the country, landing at
Rome Ciampino Airport on Wednesday afternoon, where she was welcomed by Meloni herself. On 12 January, Abedini was released back to Iran.
On 19 January 2025, the Libyan general Osama Elmasry Njeem, better known as Almasri, was arrested after the
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
–
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
match near the
Juventus Stadium
Juventus Stadium (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz Stadium since July 2017, sometimes simply known in Italy as the Stadium (), is an all-seater football stadium in the Vallette borough of Turin, Italy, and the home of Juventus ...
, in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, and transported to the Vallette prison. Almasri was
indicted
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...
by the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(ICC) of
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
for war crimes. Subsequently, the
court of appeal
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
of Rome ordered his release on 21 January due to the irregularity of the arrest, which resulted from the lack of approval from the Ministry of Justice. After his release, the Libyan military officer was expelled and repatriated to Libya aboard a
Falcon 900
The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation.
Development
The Falcon 900 is a development of the Dassault Falcon 50, Falcon 50, itself a development of the e ...
aircraft of the Italian intelligence services. On 27 January, following a report filed with the Rome prosecutor's office by lawyer Luigi Li Gotti, the Tribunal of Ministers was involved to assess whether Prime Minister Meloni, Minister of the Interior
Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of Justice
Carlo Nordio
Carlo Nordio (born 6 February 1947) is an Italian politician, former magistrate and prosecutor, who is serving as Italian Minister of Justice since 22 October 2022, in Giorgia Meloni's government. In the 2022 Italian presidential election he was ...
, and Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers
Alfredo Mantovano should be investigated for aiding and abetting and embezzlement. In a video posted on social media, Meloni said: "Curiously, the
CCdid so just when this person was about to enter Italian territory, after he had peacefully stayed in three other European states for twelve days." According to writer and journalist
Roberto Saviano
Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book ''Gomorrah (book), Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic ...
, the repatriation affair would have been completely buried without the intervention of some Italian media outlets focused on immigration and the Libyan mafia's control over illegal immigration, who were the first to report the news.
On April 17, after discussing with Ursula von der Leyen strategies on how to approach the meeting, she visited
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
and met with U.S. president
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
(who had recently imposed
significant tariffs on almost all foreign imports); this visit constituted the first step towards trade talks between the EU and the US. Meloni received a warm welcome from Trump, who praised her
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
stances and accepted her invitation for a state visit in Italy.
Political positions
Some observers have described Meloni's political positions as
far right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
,
and have highlighted her campaign appearances with
Rachele Mussolini.
In August 2018, Friedel Taube wrote in ''
Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
'' that "Giorgia Meloni has a long history in far-right politics". In a July 2022 interview with Nicholas Farrell of ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'', Meloni rejected descriptions of her politics as far right, calling it a
smear campaign by her opponents and cited British
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
philosopher
Roger Scruton
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
as one of her influences.
She has described herself as a mainstream conservative. Additionally, Meloni has been described as
hard right,
right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...
, and
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
.
Meloni has been described as being close to
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian lawyer and politician who has been the 56th prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has also led the Fidesz political party since 200 ...
, the
Prime Minister of Hungary
The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the government of Hungary, Cabinet are collectively accountability, accountable for their policies and actions to the National Assembly (Hungary), Par ...
and leader of
Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; ) is a national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán. It has increasingly identified as illiberal.
Originally formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young Democrats () as ...
, and
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
, the former
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...
and
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
leader. Furthermore, she has been linked with the
Vox political party in Spain, representatives of the
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
party in Poland, and the
Republican Party in the United States. Meloni has self-described her political party,
Brothers of Italy
Brothers of Italy (, FdI) is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Ita ...
(FdI), as a mainstream conservative party.
She is in favour of
presidentialism and supports changes to the
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly of Italy, Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the p ...
.
In June 2024, Meloni criticised the
EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 that would "condemn
uropeto new strategic dependencies, such as China's electric
ehicles. According to Meloni: "Reducing polluting emissions is the path we want to follow, but with common sense."
Social issues

Meloni opposes abortion,
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
, and laws that recognise
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, and describes herself as "pro-family".
[ Updated 26 September 2022.] She has said she "wouldn't change" the
abortion law in Italy
Abortion in Italy became legal in May 1978, when Italy, Italian women were allowed to terminate a pregnancy on request during the first 12 weeks and 6 days (90 days). A proposal to repeal the law was considered in a 1981 Italian referendums, 1981 ...
but wanted to apply more fully the part of the law "about prevention", such as permitting doctors to refuse to carry them out (
conscientious objection to abortion). She also stated that the
recognition of same-sex unions in Italy
Italy has recognised civil unions since 5 June 2016, providing same-sex couples with almost all of the legal protections, benefits and rights of marriage. A bill to this effect was approved by the Senate on 25 February 2016 and by the Chamber o ...
is good enough,
and she said it was something she would not change; in 2016, while she said she would respect the law if elected
mayor of Rome
The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...
, she had supported a
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
to abrogate the civil union law. At a rally at the
Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo is a large Town Square, urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian language, Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the Populus, poplars (''populus'' in Latin language, Latin, ''pioppo ...
in October 2019, she spoke against
same-sex parenting
Same-sex parenting is parenting of children by Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples generally consisting of Gay men, gay, lesbian, or bisexual people who are often in civil partnerships, domestic partnerships, civil unions, or same-sex marria ...
; her speech became viral on Italian social media platforms. During a February 2016 interview to ''
Le Iene'', an Italian television show, she had also said that she would "rather not have a gay child".
Meloni has opposed the , a
hate speech
Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
law.
She is opposed to the
DDL Zan
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Italy significantly advanced in the 21st century, although LGBTQ people still face various challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents, despite public opinion being increasin ...
, an
anti-homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
law that would expand the Mancino law to cover LGBT discrimination, declaring in 2020 that "there is no homophobia" in Italy. She is also opposed to
surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...
, which is pejoratively known in Italian as ''utero in affitto'' ('uterus renting'), and she has pushed in Parliament for a law to make it a "universal crime"; her efforts have been endorsed by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
himself.
Meloni is supportive of the
anti-gender movement
The anti-gender movement is a global phenomenon that opposes concepts often referred to as "gender ideology" or "gender theory". These loosely-defined terms are commonly used by the movement to critique a range of issues related to gender equ ...
, based on
Catholic theology
Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholi ...
in the 1990s that condemns
gender studies
Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...
, and she is sceptical of what she calls "gender ideology"; she says it is being taught in schools, and that it attacks female identity and motherhood. She is supportive of changing the Constitution of Italy to make it illegal for same-sex couples to adopt children. In March 2018, she criticised
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
for the decision to represent a gay couple in the musical fantasy film ''
Frozen II
''Frozen 2'', stylized as ''Frozen II'', is a 2019 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures as the sequel to '' Frozen'' (2013). The film was directed by Chris Buck ...
''. On Facebook, she wrote: "Enough! We are sick of it! Take your hands off the children."
Feminism
In her 2011 book ''We Believe'', Meloni wrote: "I am a right-wing woman, and I proudly support women's issues. In recent years we have had to suffer contempt and racism by feminists. ... Perhaps as far as feminism is conceived in this way, it is more a question of ideology than of gender and substance." She is opposed to pink quotas and has denied being anti-women as accused by some critics.
The possibility of Meloni becoming the first woman to become
Prime Minister of Italy
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...
had been widely discussed both prior to and after the
2022 Italian general election
Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...
. Some women did not see this as a victory due to her political positions, while others saw it at least partly in a positive light, and a few others called her a feminist despite Meloni's rejection of the label. Prior to the election, former U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
commented: "The election of the first woman prime minister in a country always represents a break with the past, and that is certainly a good thing." This prompted a response from some critics and observers, including historians
Ruth Ben-Ghiat and David Broder. Ben-Ghiat wrote: "Meloni would also represent continuity with Italy's darkest episode."
For her part, Meloni declared herself ready to govern and criticised feminists.
Immigration and multiculturalism
Meloni has criticised Italy's approach towards
illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
, calling for a
zero-tolerance policy. She wants to blockade illegal immigrants from reaching Italian ports,
and boost the birth rate of Italian nationals to ease the need for migrant labour. She is opposed to
birthright citizenship proposals, which would give citizenship including education rights to foreigners born and living in Italy.
Amid the 2022 escalation of the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
, Meloni said she supported giving refugee status to those coming from a war-shaken country but not to other
asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...
. She said: "It's time to call things by their name, to give refugee status to those fleeing war, women, and children, perhaps doing the opposite with those who aren't refugees." In August 2022, she reposted a
pixelated
Pixelization (in British English pixelisation) or mosaic processing is any technique used in editing images or video, whereby an image is blurred by displaying part or all of it at a markedly lower resolution. It is primarily used for censorshi ...
video on Twitter that shows a woman being raped by an asylum seeker. The victim of the violence decried the publication of the video and said she was recognised by the video posted. After receiving backlash, Meloni defended herself by accusing other politicians of not having condemned the rape itself.
Meloni has blamed
neo-colonialism
Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...
for Africa's underdevelopment and the
2015 European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request asylum, the most in a single ...
, and she said she favours co-operation over what she termed
France's neocolonialism. She has been considered as opposed to the reception of illegal immigrants, as well as to
multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
, and she has been described as
xenophobic
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
, as well as
Islamophobic
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
,
by some critics. In 2018, she said she would welcome Venezuelans, saying they are Christians and often of Italian origins. She has often criticised
George Soros
George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
and what she terms ''
globalists'', at times reflecting the views of
Soros conspiracy theories, once saying: "When you are a slave, you act in Soros's interests." She has endorsed the
Great Replacement
The Great Replacement (), also known as replacement theory or great replacement theory, is a debunked white nationalist far-right conspiracy theoryPT71. espoused by French author Renaud Camus. The original theory states that, with the complicit ...
, a
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
conspiracy theory. She also believes there is a planned mass migration from Africa to Europe for the purpose of replacing and eliminating Italians, an
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
,
white genocide, and
far-right conspiracy theory
This is a list of notable Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theories. Many conspiracy theories relate to supposed clandestine government plans and elaborate murder plots. They usually deny consensus opinion and cannot be proven using Historical me ...
known as the
Kalergi Plan. She has described pro-immigration policies as part of an alleged left-wing conspiracy to "replace Italians with immigrants". In January 2017, she called
immigration to Italy "ethnic substitution".
Meloni complained about the danger of
ethnic substitution also in her 2019 book on the
Nigerian mafia,
co-written with ,
anti-vaccine
Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these Social networking, collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine h ...
psychiatrist, founder of the "Anti-Islamisation Party" and at the time
primate
Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
of a schismatic Italian Orthodox Church. Along with other
white supremacist
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
stereotypes, the book argues that a project is underway to "change the European ethnicity and create Eurafrica", that the Nigerian mafia is the product of "local cultures that practice ritual murder and cannibalism", and that "the corpses of white people are very appreciated" by the
Yoruba, who are said to be engaged in the trade of human flesh and organs.

In 2023, amidst an unprecedented migration crisis, she asserted that Europe and Italy need immigration and that only illegal immigration must be fought in favour of legal immigration. Meloni wanted to make a deal with Tunisian president
Kais Saied
Kais Saied ( ; born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian politician, jurist and retired assistant professor of law currently serving as the fifth president of Tunisia since October 2019. He was president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional ...
with a focus on stopping illegal immigration from Tunisia to Europe. In September 2023, more than 120 boats carrying around 7,000 migrants from Africa arrived on the Italian island of
Lampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; ; ) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lamp ...
within 24 hours, increasing the volume handled by the local migration reception center by 15 times and leading to the migrants outnumbering the island's native population. Meloni declared that she wrote to the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen "to ask her to come with me to Lampedusa to personally realize the gravity of the situation we face, and to immediately accelerate the implementation of the agreement with Tunisia by transferring the agreed resources".
Foreign issues

Meloni followed the PdL party line in favour of the
2011 military intervention in Libya
On 19 March 2011, a NATO-led coalition began a military intervention into the ongoing Libyan civil war (2011), Libyan Civil War to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (UNSCR 1973). The UN Security Council passed the reso ...
; however, in 2019, she criticised the French rationale for the intervention, stating it was because of
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
's opposition to the
CFA franc
CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African c ...
. She was critical of Italian relations with
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
, stating that these countries "systematically and deliberately spread fundamentalist theories that are the main causes of the growth of
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a revivalist and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. The term has been used interchangeably with similar terms such as Islamism, Islamic revivalism, Qut ...
". She opposed the decision to host the
Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...
final in Saudi Arabia, and stated that Italy should actively raise the issue of
human rights in Saudi Arabia
Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. Known for its executions of political protesters and opponents, the government of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been accused of and denounced by various intern ...
. However, upon taking office, Meloni reversed her position, with her government stating it was "keen to maintain the excellent relationship with Saudi Arabia" yet still calling for a "firm reaction" against Qatar to which several Italians were accused of involvement in
Qatargate.
In 2021, Meloni stated her party "denounced the authoritarian, Islamist direction
Erdogan's Turkey has taken for years and asked the EU to withdraw Ankara's status as a candidate country", but upon taking office, pursued closer ties with the Turkish government, due to
Italy's interests in Libya, cooperation in stopping
illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
, shared nationalist values and common disagreement with French foreign policy. Meloni advocated for the expulsion of the Indian Ambassador to Italy as a result of the
Enrica Lexie case, and she urged
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit for ...
to refuse to play in the
Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...
until the detained Italian marines were returned. Following the
Asia Bibi blasphemy case, Meloni criticised what she called the "silence of the West" and advocated a stronger stance by the international community against
human rights violations in Pakistan.
Prior to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, she was in favour of better relations with Russia and supported lifting
sanctions on the Russian Federation in 2014. In 2018, she congratulated
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
for his re-election as president. In 2021, she wrote that
Russia under Putin defends European values and Christian identity. She has since condemned the invasion and pledged to keep sending arms to Ukraine, and moved towards
Atlanticism
Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism or North Atlanticism, is the ideology which advocates a close alliance between nations in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and in Europe on political, economic, and defense issues. The te ...
. In September 2022, she said that Russia's
annexation
Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...
of four partially occupied provinces in south-eastern Ukraine has "no legal and political value". She is supportive of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, although she maintains
Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
views towards the EU, having also previously advocated a withdrawal from the
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...
. She rejects the Eurosceptic label, favouring the
Eurorealism
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform ...
of a confederal Europe of sovereign nations. Following the start of Trump's second term, Meloni has been noted for her efforts to preserve the transatlantic alliance leveraging her relationship with Trump and credited for orchestrating a rapprochement between Trump and Ukrainian president Zelensky at the 2025
funeral of Pope Francis.
A critic of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Meloni is a supporter of closer ties between Italy and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. She is a controversial figure in Croatia due to her
Italian irredentist statements in which she claimed
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
and
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
, and for being opposed to Croatian entry into the EU due to the unresolved dispute concerning properties of
exiled Italians after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
from these two Croatian regions.
In 2018, she said that
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
were protectors of
Syrian Christians in the
Syrian Civil War. In 2014, she condemned "another massacre of children in Gaza" during the
Gaza War
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
between
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and the Palestinian militant group
Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, but later changed her stance and became a supporter of closer relations with Israel. However, unlike
Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...
, she is opposed to moving the Italian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, opposed the
Rafah offensive
On 6 May 2024, Israel began a military offensive in and around the city of Rafah as part of Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present), its invasion of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war.
In early May, as ceasefire negotiations stal ...
, and is supportive of a
two-state solution
The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...
. After the
2023 Israeli invasion of Gaza, Meloni reversed her pro-Israel stance and imposed a full arms embargo on Israel. She has not apologized to African nations for wrongs committed during the
Italian colonial period, but is vocally critical of the legacy of the
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
in Africa, arguing that France continues to exploit its former colonies through the CFA Franc.
COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines
Meloni has exhibited support for
vaccine hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal of vaccines despite availability and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using ce ...
, such as not vaccinating her daughter during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy was part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2 ...
because "it's not a religion". She has been criticised due to her statements on
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
s and
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, stating the probability of someone aged 0–19 dying from COVID-19 was the same as being struck by lightning. After her party won the
2022 Italian general election
Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...
, they pledged to review the positions taken by the Italian government during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and end the
COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place for health care workers.
Relationship with fascism
During her political career, Meloni has expressed statements that generated controversy. In an interview to the French newscast when she was 19, she praised Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
as "a good politician, in that everything he did, he did for Italy", and as the best politician of the last 50 years. In January 2020, there was some controversy after Meloni and the ('municipality') of Verona supported naming a street after
Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante (27 June 1914 – 22 May 1988) was an Italian politician who founded the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which he led until his retirement in 1987.
Early life
Almirante was born at Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia Rom ...
; Meloni and the also supported giving
Liliana Segre
Liliana Segre (; born 10 September 1930) is an Italian Holocaust survivor, named List of senators for life in Italy, senator for life by President Sergio Mattarella in 2018 for outstanding patriotic merits in the social field.
Born in 1930 int ...
, a
Holocaust survivor
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...
and
senator for life
A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , five Italian senators out of 205, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...
, honorary citizenship. Segre said that she and Almirante are incompatible and the ''comune'' had to make a choice. In May 2020, Meloni praised Almirante as a "great politician", as well as "a patriot". He was the co-founder of the
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...
(MSI), who had a long post-war political career until retiring in 1987. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he was a
wartime collaborator as a civil minister of the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...
(RSI), a Nazi
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...
, as well as editor-in-chief of the antisemitic and racist magazine , which published the "
Manifesto of Race" in 1938.
As a minister in 2009, Meloni visited
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
in Israel,
and she has also said as FdI party leader that her party "handed fascism over to history for decades now" and it "unambiguously condemns the suppression of democracy and the ignominious
anti-Jewish laws
Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities".
During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...
".
In November 2018, Meloni declared that the celebration of the
Liberation Day
Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...
, also known as the Anniversary of Italy's Liberation from Nazi-Fascism on 25 April, and , which celebrates the birth of the Italian Republic on 2 June, should be substituted with the
National Unity and Armed Forces Day
National Unity and Armed Forces Day () is an Public holidays in Italy, Italian national day since 1919 which commemorates the victory in World War I, a war event considered the completion of the process of unification of Italy. It is celebrated e ...
on 4 November, which commemorates Italy's victory in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. She said that Liberation Day and are "two controversial celebrations". Meloni has tried to distance herself from her ties to Roberto Jonghi Lavarini, a Milanese politician and entrepreneur known as the "Black Baron".

After the formation of FdI in 2012, she decided to add the tricolour flame to the party flag, a
neo-fascist
Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...
symbol associated with the MSI, which derived its name and ideals from the RSI. The tricolour flame is said to represent Mussolini's remains, where a flame is always burning on his tomb in
Predappio
Predappio ( , ; or ) is a (municipality) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with a population of 6,135 as of 1 January 2021. The town is best known for being the birthplace of Benito Mussolini, founder of ...
. Heading into the 2022 general election, Segre told ''Pagine Ebraiche'' that Meloni should remove the tricolour flame from the party's logo. FdI's co-founder
Ignazio La Russa
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician who is serving as President of the Senate of the Republic (Italy), president of the Senate of the Republic since 2022 President of the Italian Senate election, 13 Octob ...
rejected this view,
and Meloni ignored the request, keeping the tricolour flame.
Observers, including historians
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, David Broder, and
Laurence Bertrand Dorléac,
said that Meloni and FdI have been ambiguous about their fascist past, at times rejecting it and at other times minimising it, and that this has helped to rebrand both herself and her party. Responding to the 2021 ''
Fanpage.it'' report, she minimised the investigation and refused to remove openly neo-fascist members of FdI. In December 2021, FdI's Alfredo Catapano and Luigi Rispoli were among former MSI members who did a
Roman salute
The Roman salute, also known as the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out pa ...
, which was condemned by the
ANPI. Rispoli told ''Fanpage.it'': "I believe in the
New Right and in the efforts Giorgia Meloni is making in Brothers of Italy. It makes me wonder, frankly, this clamour." Shortly before the 2022 general election, she sacked a member that openly praised
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
.
FdI had also distanced itself from the
Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche.
Geography
The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...
party section after it celebrated the anniversary of the
March on Rome
The March on Rome () was an organized mass demonstration in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fascist Party leaders planned a march ...
in 2019.
On 25 October 2022, on the occasion of the vote of confidence of the Parliament at the government, Meloni in her speech before the deputies said: "Freedom and democracy are the distinctive elements of contemporary European civilization in which I have always recognized myself. And therefore, despite the instrumental argument of my opponents, I have never had sympathy for undemocratic regimes. For any regime, including fascism. Exactly as I have always considered the racial laws of 1938 the lowest point in Italian history, a shame that will mark our people forever."
In July 2024, Meloni was awarded damages in a defamation lawsuit against journalist Giulia Cortese, who in October 2021 had posted a photo of Meloni on Twitter, now X, which was altered to show with Mussolini in the background. Cortese later mocked Meloni's height, stating, "You don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you're only 1.2 metres (4 ft) tall. I can't even see you." Cortese was not charged for posting the photo comparing Meloni to Mussolini, but was fined for comments about Meloni's height that were deemed "body shaming". Cortese criticised the judgment in a post on X, stating, "Italy's government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent."
Personal life
In 2015, Meloni began a relationship with , a journalist working for
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
TV channels. The couple have a daughter born in 2016. On 20 October 2023, she announced her split with Giambruno, following his off-air statements transmitted by the television program ''
Striscia la notizia
''Striscia la notizia'' (, "the news slithers") is an Italian satirical television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Launched in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but ''Striscia'' ...
'' that were described as "sexist" and "chauvinist", which included propositioning a female colleague for a
threesome
In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...
. Meloni added that "all those who hoped to weaken
erby attacking
erpersonal life should know that however much the drop of water tries to dig out the stone, the stone remains stone and the drop is only water". She defended herself not being married to her child's father.
Meloni is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and has used her religious identity in part to help build her national brand. In a 2019 speech to a rally in Rome, she said: "I am Giorgia. I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian."
In September 2022, Meloni reportedly continued to embrace the trinomial "Dio, patria, famiglia" ('God, fatherland, family'). She has said she resents being linked to Italy's fascist past.
In addition to her native Italian, Meloni speaks English, Spanish, and French.
Meloni is a fan of fantasy, particularly
J. R. R. Tolkien's ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
''. As a youth activist with the
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...
(MSI), she attended the 1993 revival of the festival ("Hobbit 93") and sang along with the folk band , named after ''
The Fellowship of the Ring
''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien; it is followed by ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. The action takes place in th ...
'' (1954).
Later, she named her political conference
Atreyu, after the hero of the novel ''
The Neverending Story
''The Neverending Story'' () is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series and a television series.
Plot
T ...
'' (1979). Meloni told ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'': "I think that Tolkien could say better than we can what conservatives believe in."
[ In November 2023, Meloni inaugurated a major exhibition on J. R. R. Tolkien at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome to mark the 50th anniversary of the author's death. Apart from Tolkien, she is fond of British conservative philosopher ]Roger Scruton
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
and has said: "If I were British I would be a Tory
A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
."
Honours and recognition
''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked Meloni as the seventh most powerful woman in the world in 2022 and placed her third in 2023 and 2024. In 2024 she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine. That same year, Meloni also received the Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
's Global Citizen Award. ''Politico Europe
''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization '' Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...
'' ranked her as Europe's Most Powerful Person in their Class of 2025.
Foreign honours
* : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...
(2023)
* : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...
(2024)
* : Member of the Order of Liberty
The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom (), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignity. The order was cr ...
(2024)
Electoral history
Meloni has been a member of Parliament since 2006, being most recently re-elected in 2022.
First-past-the-post elections
Meloni won first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
elections for a parliamentary seat in both 2018 and 2022.
Municipal elections
Meloni lost the municipal election to become mayor of Rome
The mayor of Rome () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...
in 2016.
Bibliography
*
*
*
See also
* Brothers of Italy
Brothers of Italy (, FdI) is a National conservatism, national-conservative and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Italy, that is currently the country's ruling party. After becoming the largest party in the 2022 Ita ...
* Conservatism in Italy
Conservatism in Italy () is the political philosophy and ideology of conservatism as it has developed in Italy. It seeks to uphold Italian culture with an emphasis on familialism and patriotism and is historically strongly associated with cleric ...
* Far-right politics in Italy
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
* Italian prime ministers
* Meloni government
* 2022 Italian general election
Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meloni, Giorgia
1977 births
21st-century Italian women politicians
Italian anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Brothers of Italy politicians
Critics of Islamism
Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XIX of Italy
Female critics of feminism
Italian anti-communists
Italian eurosceptics
Italian nationalists
Italian people of Sardinian descent
Italian Roman Catholics
Leaders of political parties in Italy
Living people
Meloni Cabinet
National Alliance (Italy) politicians
The People of Freedom politicians
People of Sicilian descent
Politicians from Rome
Prime ministers of Italy
Right-wing populism in Italy
Right-wing populists
Women government ministers of Italy
Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)
Women opposition leaders
Women prime ministers in Europe
First women prime ministers