Meloni’s Rule-Rewrite Sparks Uproar

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is rewriting her country’s electoral rules to lock in power — and her coalition partners may demand a steep price for their support.

Story Snapshot

Meloni’s coalition won a clear majority in 2022 with nearly 44% of the vote, giving her a strong democratic mandate.
Her coalition is now working to change Italy’s electoral system before the 2027 election to improve her chances of staying in power.
Critics call the electoral overhaul “authoritarian,” while her hard-right allies demand concessions that could pull her government further from the center.
Meloni has kept Italy firmly pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine, defying fears that her government would side with Russia.

A Clear Win, But a Complicated Alliance

In September 2022, Meloni’s right-wing coalition won big. Her party, Brothers of Italy, led an alliance that captured nearly 44% of the vote and won an absolute majority in both houses of parliament. ^[1] Meloni became Italy’s first female prime minister. She promised to “govern for all Italians” and said her government would focus on what unites people, not what divides them. ^[2] That was the easy part. Keeping her coalition together has proven much harder.

Her coalition includes Matteo Salvini’s League party and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. These partners have their own ambitions and don’t always agree with Meloni. ^[1] The three parties clash on energy costs, taxes, immigration policy, and how much to support Ukraine. Holding this group together requires constant deal-making — and every deal comes with a price tag.

Changing the Rules Before the Next Election

Meloni’s coalition is now pushing to change Italy’s electoral system ahead of the 2027 general election. The goal is to reshape the rules in a way that helps her side win again. Opposition parties are furious. They call the plan “authoritarian” and say it is designed to entrench Meloni’s power rather than serve voters. ^[7] This kind of move raises real questions about whether the changes are about good government or political survival.

Italy has a long history of unstable governments. Political observers predicted after the 2022 vote that even a strong coalition would struggle to last five full years. Meloni famously shot back, “Whether the left likes it or not, our government will last five years.” ^[1] So far, she has held on. But changing election laws to stay in power is a different kind of test — one that goes beyond winning votes and into the mechanics of how democracy works.

The Hard-Right Roots That Won’t Go Away

Brothers of Italy traces its roots to the Italian Social Movement, a post-World War II neo-fascist party. ^[9] More than three-quarters of the party’s leadership came from that movement or its successor. Meloni has tried to distance herself from that past. She banned the so-called “Roman salute” at party events and told members to stop referencing fascism. ^[11] Still, the party has not fully cut ties with that history, and critics keep pointing it out.

Giorgia Meloni has bigger issues than Trump’s childish criticisms. A new hard-right insurgency is draining support from Meloni’s coalition, promising remigration and even stricter social conservatism. Meloni’s biggest battles are yet to come, says Rocco Loiacono…

— spiked (@spikedonline) June 28, 2026

Despite those concerns, Meloni has governed as a strong Western ally. She has backed Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, visited Kyiv, and stood firmly with NATO. ^[5] Her coalition partners had warmer ties with Russia before the war, which made Europe nervous. But Meloni held the line. For conservative voters who care about national sovereignty and Western strength, that record matters — even if her coalition’s internal tensions and the push to rewrite election rules give reason for caution.