“And we got this nice woman with a big smile and a cake.īut it’s not always about nice. She turned up at her first meeting in Brussels with a cake in tow: “We were expecting this monster,” one Eurocrat told me. This tough-as-nails southern politician certainly has a propensity to outwit competitors and critics and to end up in charge – but she then defies expectations all over again by moderating the raucous tone of her campaign rallies and presenting a more affable, attractive public face. Much has been said about Meloni’s personal appeal, as a single mother who advocates for nuclear families and who has vowed to raise the birthrate with subsidies for families as part of a campaign for “traditional” values. Given her success in manoeuvring herself and her party from the fringes of Italy’s changeable landscape to outrun other far-right contenders such as Matteo Salvini and heirs to the Berlusconi legacy, it would be unwise to underestimate her chances. She will first have to escape the opprobrium of opposition in parliament and win a possible referendum. Meloni has now announced the “ mother of all reform packages”, a power grab that would allow prime ministers to be directly elected on minority vote shares.
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