Giorgia Meloni Has Defied Expectations

“Giorgia Meloni’s ascendancy to the Italian premiership last year sent a shiver down the spines of centrists across the Continent and beyond. Brussels braced for a member of a post-fascist party getting a seat (and a vote) at its top tables, bolstering the ranks of the EU’s problem children,” Politico reports.

“Kyiv prepared for Italy to break from the pack and seek to soften support for Ukraine and wind back Russia sanctions. But a year after becoming the leader of the EU’s third-largest economy, Meloni has defied expectations — and built a significant (if cautious) fan club.”