The Dangers of Giorgia Meloni’s Government

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s Prime Minister, is currently under fire for her appointment of a junior minister who was pictured wearing a swastika armband in 2005. Meloni is a member of the Brothers of Italy party, a far-right Italian political party, as is the new junior minister, Galeazzo Bignami. Bignami says that he feels “profound shame” over the photographs, but because the Brothers of Italy party has roots in neofascism, skeptics aren’t quick to dismiss this faux pas.

This is not the first of Meloni’s questionable decisions regarding fascism, though. She openly praised Mussolini, claiming that “everything he did, he did for Italy,” and saying that he was a “good politician”. This directly contradicts Meloni’s claims that she condemns fascism, as Benito Mussolini was the founding member of the National Fascist Party. Another of Meloni’s appointments suggested renaming a park after Benito Mussolini’s brother, which also drew criticism from antifascist advocates.

Meloni is the most far-right leader of Italy since Mussolini, which could have terrifying implications for minorities in Europe. The resurgence of fascism has been noted in the past few years as something to monitor, but with Meloni’s rise to power, that threat has increased. On Sunday, a ship filled with migrants was ordered to leave Italy, due to Italy’s new policy of flagging foreign ships. This increase in xenophobia could be an indication of Nazi sentiments reemerging, because of the Nazi’s anti-immigrant ideology, which is a dangerous prospect for many, but especially for the Romani people in Italy.

The Roma have never been fully accepted into Italian society, due to long-lasting sentiments against them from World War II, because alongside Jewish people, Romani people were targeted by Mussolini. Meloni founded her party alongside Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini, both of whom have been responsible for anti-Romani policies, and inciting violence against the Roma. Meloni being in power could open the gates for more of those policies, and more policies rooted in racism and fascism.

Meloni is trespassing into dangerous territories that could cause Italy to revert back to the fascist tendencies responsible for WWII, and the persecution of the Romani people. Fascism has been on the rise for years, but this far-right government could be the tipping point that turns Europe into a dangerous place for minorities, once again.