Giorgia Meloni's Italy: An authoritarian drift? (part 2)

In this edition of Europe Rendezvous, we travel to Italy, one of the European Union’s founding members, to examine how the country’s democratic institutions have come under increasing pressure. It may be the season of la dolce vita, but life has been far from sweet for migrants, women seeking abortions in parts of Italy, and journalists facing growing political pressure on the media. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leads a coalition of conservatives and the far right, and as the 2027 […]

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Giorgia Meloni's Italy: An authoritarian drift? (Part 1)

In this edition of Europe Rendezvous, we travel to Italy, one of the European Union’s founding members, to examine how the country’s democratic institutions have come under increasing pressure. It may be the season of la dolce vita, but life has been far from sweet for migrants, women seeking abortions in parts of Italy, and journalists facing growing political pressure on the media. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leads a coalition of conservatives and the far right, and as the 2027 […]

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Meloni's Italy: Fortress Europe?

Migration was at the heart of Giorgia Meloni’s successful 2022 election campaign. Promising a tougher approach to irregular migration helped propel her to power, but what has her government achieved since then? One of its flagship policies was the creation of a controversial migrant processing centre in Albania. Yet the plan has repeatedly run into legal obstacles in Italy, raising questions about whether it can deliver on its promises. At the same time, Meloni has had to balance her hardline rhetoric […]

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Meloni: The face of Europe's far right?

Giorgia Meloni made history in 2022 when she became Italy’s first female prime minister. She quickly signalled her ideological affinity with Donald Trump and positioned herself as a bridge between the MAGA movement in the United States and Europe’s radical right. She was also the only European leader invited to attend Trump’s second inauguration in 2025. Renaud Lefort examines how the relationship between Trump and Meloni has evolved since then, alongside Meloni’s changing role within the European Union. While she […]

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