The New York TimesThe New York Times

Europe looks at Italy's Meloni with caution and trepidation

By Steven Erlanger

26 Sep 2022 · 6 min read

Editor's Note

An in-depth New York Times analysis illustrates just how worried EU leaders are about Meloni’s win, but also shows how Italy’s dour economic reality limits her ability to rock the boat too much.

BRUSSELS — The victory in Italian elections of the far-right and Euroskeptic leader Giorgia Meloni, who once wanted to ditch the euro currency, sent a tremor Monday through a European establishment worried about a new right-wing shift in Europe.

European Union leaders are now watching her coalition’s comfortable victory in Italy, one of its founding members, with caution and some trepidation, despite reassurances from Meloni, who would be the first far-right nationalist to govern Italy since Benito Mussolini, that she has moderated her views.

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