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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

Meloni Overtakes Berlusconi to Set Italy’s Longest Postwar Government Record

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government reached 1,413 consecutive days in office, surpassing Silvio Berlusconi’s previous record for a single cabinet since the Italian Republic was founded in 1946.
  • Meloni’s three-party conservative coalition has remained in power despite tensions between its junior partners, while her Brothers of Italy party leads polls at about 27%.
  • The record concerns the uninterrupted tenure of one cabinet, while Berlusconi remains ahead when the total time served by multiple governments under the same prime minister is counted.

Giorgia Meloni’s government has now lasted longer without interruption than any other cabinet in Italy since the republic was founded in 1946. Her coalition reached 1,413 days in office, one day longer than Silvio Berlusconi’s second government, which governed for 1,412 days from 2001 to 2005.

Meloni once recalled predictions that her right-wing government would collapse within six months. Critics had forecast a financial crisis and complete international isolation for Italy. Almost four years later, those predictions have not come true. Meloni’s coalition of Brothers of Italy, the League and Forza Italia has held together despite repeated friction, especially between the two junior partners.

And then they all woke up drenched in sweat.

· Giorgia MeloniMeloni mocked those who had predicted that her government would quickly collapse.

Italy has had 68 governments since 1946, with each lasting an average of only 13 months. Meloni’s record therefore highlights an unusual degree of continuity in a country known for frequent changes of government. It applies only to one uninterrupted cabinet, however. When the combined terms of several governments led by the same prime minister are counted, Berlusconi remains first with more than nine years. Meloni currently ranks seventh on that broader list.

Europe’s most dangerous woman

· Stern magazineThe magazine used the phrase in a headline before Italy’s 2022 election.

Meloni and Brothers of Italy are presenting the achievement as a major success. The party plans a rally in Bari in southern Italy, where Meloni is scheduled to speak. Her party currently stands at about 27% in opinion polls, clearly ahead of its competitors.

The political fears surrounding Meloni before the 2022 election also failed to produce the isolation some had predicted. Her roots in the post-fascist tradition drew scrutiny, and she was described as a post-fascist politician. Brothers of Italy is the successor to the neo-fascist MSI, founded in 1946 by supporters of Benito Mussolini. Before the election, Germany’s Stern magazine called Meloni “Europe’s most dangerous woman,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the European Union had “tools” if events moved in a difficult direction.

Tools

· Ursula von der LeyenThe European Commission president said the EU had tools if events moved in a difficult direction.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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