Italian Far-right Leader Giorgia Meloni Faces Resistance in Referendum

Until now, everything seemed to be going well for Giorgia Meloni. More than four years after her rise to the top of the Italian Council of Ministers, her party Fratelli d’Italia is still leading in the polls. In Europe, the far-right leader has successfully positioned herself as a reliable ally, coveted for her strong popularity. However, on March 22 and 23, Italians mobilized massively against her constitutional reform of the judiciary (54% voted against) in a referendum that turned into a referendum on her own persona. Meloni is also paying the price for the weakness of her economic policies.

Behind the anger of the voters, it is hard not to see the shadow of Donald Trump. Since the Israeli-American offensive on Iran, Italians are worried about the soaring prices of gasoline, gas, and electricity. Over the past four years, the Italian government has not addressed the energy crisis caused by the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and has continued to rely on fossil fuels, which still make up nearly 80% of its energy mix. As a result, with 44% of electricity generated by gas plants (compared to 16.7% in the European Union), Italy remains the European country most exposed to the surge in energy prices.

Giorgia Meloni does not hide her bitterness: why did Italians deal such a blow to their leader? This energy policy was reinforced by Meloni’s visit to Algiers on March 25 to secure her oil supplies after the halt in Qatari gas deliveries due to the war. In every crisis, the government repeats the same strategy: “Changing suppliers rather than addressing the root problem, which is the dependence on gas,” explains Francesca Andreolli, an energy expert at the ECCO Climate think tank.