“The Point”: Meloni Like Merkel, Avoiding Change as Political Tactics

Georgia Meloni is set to become the longest-serving prime minister of postwar Italy on Sept. 4. Her government has come to symbolize political stability, and Italy’s economy has improved on some of its most important indicators. Yet the central question is whether that stability represents a real breakthrough or simply a strategy of avoiding change.

Jędrzej Bielecki, a foreign affairs journalist for Rzeczpospolita, examines Meloni’s record alongside Italy’s demographic problems, migration and the effects of her government on the European Union. The analysis presents her coalition’s survival as a notable achievement because its partners hold sharply different views.

On one side stands Matteo Salvini’s League, linked to Europe’s radical right and described as considerably more pro-Russian. On the other is the more moderate Forza Italia. Meloni has managed to keep the coalition together despite that divide, offering Brussels a measure of relief.