Ruthless, clever, pragmatic: why Giorgia Meloni is so dangerous to Italy – and Europe | Anne McElvoy

The Italian PM has watered down old far-right ideas for the 21st century – and is attempting to remake Italy in her own image

She’s the brash campaigner and paradoxical populist – the Brothers of Italy sister who has strongly partisan prescriptions for a country prone to a stagnant economy, a lagging birthrate and political stalemate. She intends to defeat these challenges by consolidating her own power. Giorgia Meloni is western Europe’s most ruthless tactical operator – a new kind of nationalist populist who defies the easy categories.

She’s also the ideological descendant of a dangerous tradition, formed in the Italian Social Movement, rooted in the the postwar incarnation of Benito Mussolini’s fascists and steeped in the adaptation of beguiling cultural tropes. After decades of fractious coalitions and technocratic solutions, supporters relish her dominant leadership approach and mission to “defend” the country from outside influences.

Anne McElvoy is executive editor at Politico. The Reinvention of Italy is on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 14 November, repeated on Monday 20 November