Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has delivered an unusually stable government, a rare feat in Italian politics, and is on track to become the longest-serving post-WWII prime minister by early September. Her approach has been characterized by consolidating power, projecting an image of control, and balancing nationalism with pragmatic governance, maintaining a pro-Western stance internationally and a solid parliamentary majority domestically.
While Meloni's government has seen some positive indicators, like Italy's unemployment rate reaching a 20-year low at 5.1% (down from 8% when she took office), economic growth has considerably declined. Italy's GDP grew 4.8% the year she took office, largely due to post-COVID rebound, but dropped to 0.9% in 2023, 0.8% in 2024, and 0.5% in 2025. This contrasts with other southern European economies that experienced over 2% annual GDP growth during the same period. Critics, including Maurizio Tarquini of Confindustria, argue her latest budget prioritizes stability over growth, with meager growth reliant on EU post-pandemic recovery funds.
Meloni's government introduced measures such as small tax cuts, simplification of the tax system, increased police hiring, higher jail terms for certain crimes, and a raise in minimum pensions. Her efforts also led to successful negotiations with the EU for financial aid to Tunisia, resulting in a reduction of irregular migrant arrivals to an estimated 67,000 in 2024 and 66,000 in 2025, down from nearly 158,000 in 2023. However, a defeat in a March 23 constitutional referendum on judiciary reform has been seen as a sign of vulnerability, and increasing energy shocks from the Iran war led to an April 22 announcement of cut economic growth outlooks and higher forecasts for the budget deficit and public debt.
Despite her success in achieving political stability, analysts like Marina Cino Pagliarello of the European University Institute suggest Meloni hasn't significantly altered the country's economic trajectory. Her risk-averse approach and focus on maintaining an equilibrium between her nationalistic agenda and pragmatic governance have resulted in reforms that are far from incisive, defining her leadership more by restraint than the renewal she initially promised.
