How Italy’s Neo-Fascist Prime Minister Rose to Power

FEATURING MICHAEL LEONARDI - Italians will soon get their first ever woman Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Meloni’s rise to power however may be a serious set-back for the rights of women, as well as immigrants, the LGBTQ community, the environment, and more. Her far-right Brotherhood of Italy party is seen as a descendant of fascist leaders Silvio Berlusconi and even Mussolini. She is also considered to be a strong ally of former U.S. president Donald Trump’s  advisor Steve Bannon.

In an op-ed for Counterpunch, writer Michael Leonardi says Meloni’s popularity is “based on her fiery rhetoric and sloganeering, feeding on the spiralling discontent of an increasingly ignorant populace.”