“Surprises”. The Washington Post applauds Meloni: “An example for right-wing parties in Europe”

“They said she wouldn’t get to taste Panettone [… ]has reached the Dove with a grip that would seem even firmer”. According to Lee Hockstader, who signs an op-ed today in the Washington Post, Giorgia Meloni is a real surprise able to “displace his critics”.

How unexpected was this “surprise”? The Times was prophetic when, already in 2020, it included Giorgia Meloni in the “Twenty faces that could shape the world” and reiterated its prediction a few weeks ago with great praise to the “common sense” of the Italian premier, backed up by certainly encouraging data on the popularity which he enjoys, on the part of the Italian people, compared to other leaders. If London was so positive towards a leader placed on the European scene among the extreme right, why overseas are they so surprised by the success achieved? When Meloni took office, recalls Hockstader, many feared it would destabilize the Italian economy. For now, instead warns the WaPo, his party – the most right-wing since post-war times – it is moving promptly, timely and with a pinch of luck among the various vicissitudes facing which today’s times place it. “If Meloni can ride the treacherous waves of coalition politics and manage an economy that has been stagnant for about 20 years – both big ifs – its success could be a model for other right-wingers in Europe“.

Giorgia Meloni’s readiness is attributed to well-crafted strategic moves in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, clashing with coalition neighbors Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini and with foreign allies such as Viktor Orban and Marine Le Pen, “unable”, says Hockstader, to abandon the Russian line. In short, the one published today by the American newspaper in the lib-dem area is, if not exactly praise, applause for the Prime Minister’s handling of the Ukrainian dossier. Strengthened by this position, Meloni has firmly established herself as an Atlanticist leader and took a seat “at the G7 table from which will watch over the reconstruction of Ukraine“.

Looking closely, one can well understand why the premier is winking at the great European nations, the repercussions of the pandemic are still a more palpable problem than ever and the Italian state is the major beneficiary of current economic aid of European Union. Aid that is, in proportions, compared to that of the Marshall Plan as if to insert a nostalgic memory of the times when aid arrived from the other side of the Atlantic, as well as underlining the fundamental role that these funds have in avoiding a possible collapse economy of the Italian state.

Giorgia Meloni must not rest on her laurels in these profitable months, argues the American newspaper, given that threats are everywhere and the new election of Elly Schlein, compared by the Post to the youngest parliamentarian in the history of the United States of America, Alexandria Ocasio -Cortez, represents a strong opposition to his permanence at the top of the polls but at the same time a great opportunity to gain consensus in “other shores” more moved to the center. Furthermore, Meloni’s allies, defined by Hockstader as “of convenience”, could unexpectedly terminate the coalition contract and become the perpetrators of a bitter failure. The next important game will be the European electionsa sort of mid-term referendum which, if successful, could secure her a full mandate.