When Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office on Oct. 22, 2022, at the head of the most right-wing government Italy has had since World War II, many feared Rome might embark on a path of Euroscepticism and economically unsustainable policies that would strain public finances. One year on, most of these concerns have not materialized, as geopolitical and economic constraints forced the coalition to embrace a pragmatic approach and abandon some of the more radical stances that contributed to its rise. In fact, Meloni largely remained on the path set by her predecessor Mario Draghi's unity government, keeping a largely conservative fiscal policy, pursuing post-pandemic economic reforms, maintaining Rome closely aligned with NATO and supportive of Ukraine, and seeking collaboration with the European Union even in politically sensitive areas like migration. The government then sought to please its electorate by pursuing a conservative agenda in areas where external pressures were...
