The election victory by Giorgia Meloni can be seen as revolutionary, as her background is very different from the traditional Italian politicians who often grow up in highly elite circumstances and graduate from expensive business schools like Bocconi and Luiss Guido Carli. Being abandoned by her father at age 11, this has not stopped Meloni from pursuing her political career. As working class citizen and long-time politician Meloni can be seen as a leader of the “quartiere populare” which makes her words much stronger in the eyes of the average Italian. This is an important characteristic as citizens have been feeling more and more distant from politics in the last decade reflected in the dropping voting turn-up rates over the years, dropping to a meager 65 percent in this 2022 election from 90 percent in the late 90’s.
Meloni’s strong presence, political know-how and excellent speech skills could make her the inspirational leader that could prosper Italy’s economy into the right direction after years of mediocrity. However, her aggressive standpoint against LGTBQ-groups which in her eyes are socialistic Trojan horses and her strong nationalistic stance makes her a controversial candidate in the eyes of left-wing politicians. Despite the fears, Meloni emphasized she will not overturn any abortion rights, but focus on ensuring that no abortion is done out of economic reason or due to lack of support.
ECR-Leader Giorgio Meloni Is A Pure Conservative
“Yes to natural families, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology, yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death,”
The Italian Poverty Trap Pushed Italians Towards Meloni’s FDI
Many Italian families are currently in a desperate state praying, crying and wishing for change as real disposable income has dropped to new lows. For them the unfettered migration that makes Italy the EU’s migration waiting room is destroying Italian lives. Especially in Southern Italy many Italians are struggling just to keep their businesses running and the youth’s hope of being able to afford their own home and provide for their own family someday is fading. For many Italians there is no hope outside of moving off to some other more prosperous place to get a job, which Meloni accurately pointed out in her campaign.
Lower Taxes, Job Creation Instead of Benefits and Sustainable Energy
As center right politician, Meloni is convinced that it is not the government that creates welfare but rather the economic businesses. In her view the economic benefits that many, mainly Southern Italians, get can be much better spend by supporting businesses in order to create jobs which brings certainty, welfare and prosperity. Like many other parties she points out that the windy, sunny south coasts are fruitful ground for wind turbines and solar energy which can bring jobs, energy security and lower energy bills for Italians. The proposed FDL reforms are aimed not only at alleviating the VAT pressure on companies, but also lower taxes on businesses that hire more people. Other plans include stimulating young and female entrepreneurship, securing job certainty for mothers under the age of 35 and maintaining European collaboration but with less bureaucratic systems and lower technocratic power exerted by out-of-touch European officials. Her vision is to move funds from individuals and create economic entrepreneurial incentives that indirectly then return to the same civilians. At the same time Meloni wants to create a fair market by tackling legal loops multinationals use to evade taxes so that Italian business get the chance to develop. However, it remains to be seen how Meloni will be able to portray her policy success given current deteriorating market conditions.
Fertility Crisis At Heart Of The Family And Anti-Immigration Emphasis
Over the past decades birth rates have dropped tremendously, also in Italy where every woman births on average 1.3 childs, which is far lower than the 2.1 needed to sustain current population levels which poises many economic problems. The difference is that in many other nations where traditional family structures have changed due to welfare improvements, in Italy other dynamics are at play. A much larger part of the falling fertility rates in Italy can explained by the harsh economic uncertainties many Italians face in their everyday lives. Therefore, the classical Italian image of close family ties is rather a way of survival and the low birth rates a symptom of lost hope of family creation. This reality Meloni tries to address when stating that abortion should never be conducted because of economic reasons.
With this in mind it is easy to see why Italians are feeling increased discomfort with the vast amount of migrant waves that quadrupled over the last ten years. For many Italians the stretch is reached and Meloni addresses this new reality by stating that Italy simply can’t bring every poor person who wants a better job and a better life into the home of Italy. It doesn’t mean you can’t try to help, but ultimately one of the best ways to help is for other nations to follow the Western models that create safe, prosperous societies, ones where families are important and protected. Italians are tired of being used as a resource for other people, as prioritizing their own families and possibilities could far more effectively resolve the fertility crisis in Italy.
Will The Right-Wing Block Succeed In Their Political Crusade?
While Meloni’s victory can be explained by the above described circumstances, it remains to be seen whether her policy proposals will be effective as major changes are often implemented sluggishly. Moreover, among government agencies there has been years of left-wing leadership, it remains to be seen whether Meloni will succeed in steering all officials in the right directions or whether there will be pushes backwards. Sadly, some government officials in Puglia have already stated that they will not accept Meloni’s victory as Michele “will let them spit blood” if they, red. the FDL, will try to come and change Puglia for the worse. This violent language accurately portrays the political polarized landscape so commonly seen in recent years across the globe. There is nothing wrong with Meloni’s plan from a strategic perspective, however she needs to succeed at unifying the fiscally struggling nation to be successful, her nationalistic approach most certainly could help in her mission.