"It's clear that with Donald Trump I believed things would be easier, given our convergence on immigration and woke culture. Things turned out differently." Giorgia Meloni said this in this heated August 2026, during an interview with the New York Times a few months before the upcoming, urgent election, a true test of the concrete approval ratings of this governing majority. Better late than never, then, but like any good realization, words should be followed by concrete actions. Some time has passed since that "I neither agree nor condemn," and neither has she ever condemned Netanyahu's actions in recent years. But we need to reposition ourselves (if the expression is permissible) and begin distancing ourselves from an ally, or one stubbornly perceived as such, who, rather than offering certainties, sows fear and mistrust even in Italy. Giorgia Meloni understood this well. He probably should have understood this immediately because the convergence on immigration and woke culture alone is not that decisive, much less meaningful if it is not accompanied by a common economic vision based on shared growth.

Whatever one might say, in Italy, "there's a lot to worry about"—fuel prices, rising inflation, and the (much-criticized) National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) funds that are no longer available and no longer allow for promises to be made. Families are struggling to cope with price hikes in their shopping carts and energy costs, with containment measures insufficient to cope with everyday life. The Meloni government was born from the "rubble" of the conditional end of the most technical government in history: the so-called "national unity" government, with the ambition of offering a clear break from it.

So, beyond the position on the war (at the time only the Russian-Ukrainian one), which was predictable (unfortunately, one might say) and in full continuity with the Draghi government, has a genuine and original political line of discontinuity been positively appreciated on other issues? This is the question that needs to be answered. And that answer likely won't live up to the expectations placed upon it. Perhaps some might even regret that highly technical government. The government should also carefully and consciously reflect on this, to avoid further divisions in the country's collective consciousness. The majority has changed in 2022, but the problems appear to be the same, or perhaps even more so, given the international turmoil that followed Donald Trump's inauguration. This hasn't benefited anyone, at least not in the West, and least of all those in power.

Giorgia Meloni, today, should focus solely on reducing the cost of living, on the significant and sustained reduction in fuel taxes, and on supporting the real economy to concretely help Italians, including on the fiscal front, which remains high despite everything. Giorgia Meloni's government has almost reached the end of its mandate, establishing itself as one of the longest-serving governments in the history of the Republic, and logically, the political and public debate can only focus on the results achieved so far, if indeed they have been achieved. At first glance, the overall assessment remains highly polarized, highlighting the contradictions between the results claimed by the center-right majority and the criticisms of reform failure or slowness voiced by the opposition. The next budget law will be crucial. What are the prospects for this governing majority? And for Italians?

Giuseppina Di Salvatore

Lawyer, Nuoro

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