A blog post by Marco Del Grosso, Junior Associate

 Italy is its separate beautiful cosmos from the rest of the world. If you are not Italian, its leaders, policies, and role in the global chessboard are impossible to fully grasp. Even worse, if you ask questions about it, Italians will respond with a shoulder shrug, hands to the chin in the motion of scratching, eyebrows raised to the sky, and, again, another shrug. For an Italian citizen, that is a 458 words essay. Luckily, I am an acolyte of this strange Italian cult and can serve as a translator of its latest, rather surprising, electoral result.

The new trend in Italy is not Valentino or Gucci. It is Giorgia Meloni. The first female Presidente del Consiglio, i.e., President, in charge of the first far-right government since the fascists.[1] At first, she was a fierce anti-Europe leader. Now, she commits to European values. Again, she came into office as a protector of Italian sovereignty. Now, she advocates for integrating European policies within the Italian system.

That is Italy, my friends: The truest display of Machiavellian policy-making.[2] What we, Italians, know for certain is the proposals she advanced.[3]

• Policies benefiting families and promoting births:
  • Application of Law 194 of 1978 supporting women seeking abortion and funding a system to help financially distressed single mothers to carry the pregnancy to term.
  • Incentives to young couples for the purchase of their first home.
• Reform of the tax system:
  • Lowering the fiscal pressure of at least 5% (currently to its historic high of 43.8%).
  • Extension of the 15% flat tax for the lowest three tax brackets.
• Reforms promoting business ventures:
  • Reducing the bureaucratic procedure to create a business.
  • Financing plans supporting new business ventures.
  • Simplifying the process for a business to go public.
• Made in Italy:
  • Protection of the Made in Italy brand in its various forms.
  • Establishing an online platform – or multiple – serving Made in Italy businesses to reach a wider audience.[4]

On paper, these reforms all look stunning. Then again, will they be implemented successfully? *Shoulder shrug, hands to the chin in the motion of scratching, eyebrows raised to the sky, and, again, another shrug.*

 

 

[1] Who is Giorgia Meloni, the First Female President, Ansa (Jan. 15, 2023, 4:24 PM), https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2022/10/21/chi-e-giorgia-meloni-la-prima-premier-donna_7d470b99-3c82-4b25-9931-d0ffd85a1480.html.

[2] See generally Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (Penguin Classics, 2nd ed. 2014) https://apeiron.iulm.it/retrieve/handle/10808/4129/46589/Machiavelli%2C%20The%20Prince.pdf.

[3] Annalisa Girardi, Giorgia Meloni of Italian Brotherhood’s Government Program, Fanpage (Sept. 26, 2022, 7:30 AM), https://www.fanpage.it/politica/il-programma-di-giorgia-meloni-e-fratelli-ditalia-alle-elezioni-politiche-2022/.

[4] Id.