Meloni’s government: a record-breaking celebration in Bari – family and business support packages in the pipeline

The wear-and-tear effect is taking its toll, particularly following the defeat in the referendum on judicial reform. ‘Strike whilst the iron is hot’ is, therefore, the new mantra. And the choice of Bari to celebrate this milestone is no coincidence: in Puglia, Fratelli d’Italia is riding high. Pugliese is one of Meloni’s most distinguished and loyal supporters: the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, who will also take to the stage to speak, bearing witness to the pragmatism shown in relations with the EU. The archive of Pinuccio Tatarella which – as the vice-president of the eponymous Foundation, Fabrizio Tatarella – ‘it was in this very city that he shaped the future of the right’.

There it is: Meloni’s ambition – to continue charting the course for the right of the future. A course capable of remaining firmly anchored to the watchwords of identity, nation and tradition, and of continuing the relentless fight against irregular immigration, whilst also coming up with new ones. ‘Stability’ as a political and economic value is the key demand, mentioned five times in the 28-page brochure released on Thursday by Fdi: the virtue that has been doggedly defended over the past four years.

According to the Prime Minister, it is from this (the strict approach to public finances) that the country’s regained credibility on the markets, the spread having fallen to less than 80 basis points, and Italian government bond yields outperforming those of France stem. This record-breaking tenure – to quote the Under-Secretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari, as reported by LaPresse – ‘is an important record for the whole of Italy, one that everyone should be pleased about’, because ‘a nation with stable governments is a mature nation, capable of taking strategic decisions for the medium and long term, and this is a great advantage for the country as a whole’.

Within the Fdi, political stability is regarded as the lifeline that has enabled the party to weather the storms of wars, tariffs and attacks by Donald Trump, and it is also the promise for the next parliamentary term, facilitated by a broad coalition that has yet to agree on either a leader or a programme. It is easy to imagine that the Prime Minister will go on the offensive on this point, with the aim of dismantling the left’s ‘counter-narrative’.

The Left is not standing idly by and is taking a swipe at the government’s shortcomings and failures. “Meloni has shut herself away in the palace; she isn’t listening to the country,” thunders the Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein, in an interview with *L’Espresso*. “But whilst she’s celebrating ‘Italia No’, the economy has ground to a halt.” Giuseppe Conte (M5S) adds: “Four years, zero reforms. And yet they could have changed the country.” Everyone, including AVS, IV and Azione, is criticising low wages, stagnant growth, falling industrial production, high energy costs and a healthcare system in crisis.

To all this, Meloni will reply with Dante’s famous line, ‘non ti curar di lor’. She will, above all, highlight the employment figures as the most significant achievements. Employment is the first issue mentioned in the dossier ‘The Most Stable Government, a Stronger Italia’ and is the one that features prominently in the celebratory video recounting ‘growth over 1,413 days’. There are two counters: one marking the duration of the government’s term, and the other recording the number of new permanent jobs, which has risen to 1.305 million. In less than four years – so the refrain goes – “over half a million more stable jobs have been created than in the previous ten years under left-wing governments, when it was precarious employment that was on the rise”.