Italy recently had their parliamentary elections, with far-right leader Giorgia Meloni claiming victory in the election.

Italy has not seen a right- wing government like that of their new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni since Benito Mussolini’s power as Prime Minister during World War II. Never before has Italy seen a female Prime Minister before, either.

Meloni is the leader of the Brothers of Italy party, a right- wing populist and national-conservative political party. The party was created in the post-WWII Italy era, in hopes of remembering Mussolini and with the intentions of emulating Mussolini’s tactics and power-play in governmental affairs.

However, the latter half of the intentions is what is particularly alarming. Mussolini took power in Italy in 1922 and was Europe’s first fascist leader. It is remarked that Mussolini shared many of the traits and delusions of his German counterpart, Adolf Hitler. Among other things, Mussolini spoke of his living space being acquired by conquest, leading to mass take-overs from Ethiopia

and Albania. Additionally, he largely abandoned rational calculation in WWII and played a big role in sealing Jews’ fates by handing them over to the Germans.

There are big political and social implications when trying to emulate the former Prime Minister. However, the intentions of the party now are probably not what they are currently. It is highly unlikely that Meloni hopes to make the terrible choices that Mussolini made, but the fact that her party is formed on this basis of emulating the former PM is nothing short of alarming and raises questions for how she will spend her years as the leader of

Italy. However concerning her intentions might be, what she has actually said in the past is also alarming to many. Earlier this year, she outlined her priorities as a leader in a speech to Spain’s far-right Vox party: “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology… no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration… no to big international finance… no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!” If anything, this speaks for itself.

Not only are her intentions questionable, the elected Prime Minister is also potentially threatening for Italy’s role in the European Union. Italy is the EU’s third-biggest economy. But Meloni tried to deter questioning by stating that her Brothers of Italy party would “govern for everyone” and would therefore not betray people’s trust.