Overview
- In an interview with Il Foglio reported by Die Zeit and dpa, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said erecting 'brandmauern' or firewalls around right‑wing parties has proved ineffective.
- Meloni argued the political establishment often avoided the substance of voter worries about identity, illegal migration and the perceived threat of Islamization instead of addressing them directly.
- Italy's governing coalition shows split reactions to the AfD's recent Saxony‑Anhalt success, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini congratulating AfD co‑leader Alice Weidel and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani calling the result 'an extremely bad piece of news'.
- Meloni has previously publicly distanced herself from the AfD and now leads a three‑party right‑conservative coalition with her Fratelli d'Italia party described as post‑fascist and governing for nearly four years.
- Her comments deepen a Europe‑wide debate over whether mainstream parties should engage with voters' identity and migration concerns or keep hardline parties isolated, a debate that could shift policy debate and test cohesion within Italy's government.