Mainstream Meloni

Giorgia Meloni leads Italy’s longest-serving government since World War II ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here. A mark of Giorgia Meloni’s success is how little the word “fascism” is mentioned in association with her now, if ever. Her record speaks for itself. She presides over Italy’s longest-serving government since the republic was founded after World War II. During an asphyxiatingly hot summer, UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch sought Meloni’s advice over coffee in Rome. These days, Italy looks like a study in stability, and Britain the basket case. But appearances can be deceptive. Having moved away from the political fringes, outmaneuvered rivals and established herself firmly in the mainstream as a G7 veteran, Meloni must now face the reckoning that comes from being, well, successful and part of the establishment. When she didn’t do Donald Trump’s bidding, because it’s unpopular to be seen as subservient to the US, no European leader came to her defense as the US president viciously turned on her. Meloni and Trump. Photographer: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/AP Photo And having long shed the fascist label, a former general with pro-Russian views (which Meloni tellingly doesn’t share) has suddenly appeared as a thorn in her side. His being a Putin apologist has raised alarms given Russia’s more brazen attacks at the heart of Europe. Roberto Vannacci’s self-published book-slash-anti-woke manual entitled The World Upside Down became an instant hit. A far-right firebrand, he occupies the space she once occupied as a populist insurgent, attracting headlines by praising Benito Mussolini as a statesman. There was a time not so long ago when the prospect of Meloni becoming the first woman prime minister seemed remote — and no interviewer could resist a question on Mussolini. As a teen she praised him as a good politician. In a 2020 interview with Bloomberg she was far more nuanced: He was a historical phenomenon who should be judged in the relevant context. Yet the past is stalking Europe, in Germany as in Italy. For every label shed on the way up, another aspiring political leader is more than willing to take it on. — Flavia Krause-Jackson Futuro Nazionale founder Roberto Vannacci. Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg Global Must Reads US Vice President JD Vance says he wouldn’t describe the conflict in Iran as “a war” given that major combat operations ended several weeks ago, risking angering a public frustrated by the clash and even though military strikes recently intensified in the region. South Korea has begun preparations for a possible deployment of a naval support ship and troops to the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported, after Trump criticized Seoul for a lack of support. Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot missiles has left Kyiv with few options to protect its citizens during another winter of escalating Russian air attacks, after Moscow ramped up production of ballistic missiles and jet-powered Shahed drones. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit Moscow and Kyiv for talks this weekend, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news service. A warehouse following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv on Aug. 27. Photographer: Francisco Seco/AP Photo President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s flagship legislative proposal to reduce Brazilians’ workweek without a change in pay was delayed in the Senate, dealing the incumbent a setback as he looks to regain momentum ahead of a tight October election. Recent surveys show that he’s fallen into a virtual tie with right-wing opponent Flávio Bolsonaro. With weeks to go before the snap vote he promised, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s toughest challengers remain unknown. A student-led anti-corruption movement born almost two years ago and shrouded in secrecy hasn’t disclosed identities of those who will run on its ticket for Serbia’s 250-seat parliament, vowing to only do so once the election date is set. Argentina’s Javier Milei is reviving his country’s bitter clash with the UK over the Falkland Islands, targeting a new oil project in the disputed area in strident terms as the popularity of his presidency sinks. He will speed up sanctions against firms working around the islands without Buenos Aires’ approval. A mural depicting football legend Diego Maradona and Argentine soldiers in the Falklands War, in Buenos Aires, on July 14. Photographer: Luis Robayp/AFP/Getty Images Venezuela is becoming a major testing ground for Trump’s ambitions in the western hemisphere, and ahead is a campaign to squeeze out China and powers like Russia that the White House sees as bad actors. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let the Postal Service enforce new rules for mail-in ballots ahead of the November midterm elections, a move that some states have warned would wreak havoc as they prepare to send out voting papers. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s hopes of using his speech at his party’s annual convention to arrest a slide in opinion polls were upended after two of his closest allies were covertly filmed discussing avoiding electoral law to secure foreign donations. A South Korean art exhibition will allow Taiwanese participants to use the designation “Taiwan Pavilion” despite Chinese protests, a rare win for the island in its fight for international recognition. Don’t miss from Bloomberg Weekend: Mishal Husain speaks with Taiwanese computer scientist and AI investor Kai-Fu Lee about the future of work, while Morgan Meaker writes about the the next AI ethical minefield: talking to animals. Laura Millan looks at Nepal and the new age of mega-disasters. Subscribe to the newsletter here. WATCH: Kai-Fu Lee contends the AI race is part of a much bigger transformation. Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day The nationalist Alternative for Germany is pushing back on a growing chorus warning that its policies would hit businesses if the far-right party secures control of a state government for the first time since WWII. The AfD is leading polls by a wide margin for Sunday’s election in Saxony-Anhalt and could win an absolute majority in the eastern state of 2.1 million, one of Germany’s poorest. And Finally Trump’s $185 billion Golden Dome defense program asks companies to do what Ronald Reagan couldn’t: build interceptors to shoot down missiles from space. But the firms must fund much of the development themselves. The effort has become a high-stakes bet that companies will find a way to pioneer the unproven technology by the end of Trump’s term in 2028 when it’s their investors — and not taxpayers — on the line. A image of the dome during a press conference at the White House in May 2025. Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images More from Bloomberg Check out our Bloomberg Investigates film series about untold stories and unraveled mysteries Next China for dispatches from Beijing on where China stands now — and where it’s going next Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed Economics Daily for what the changing landscape means for policymakers, investors and you Green Daily for the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance Get Next Japan for an inside view of the forces reshaping Japan, and what’s next for its businesses, markets and consumers Explore more newsletters at Bloomberg.com We’re improving your newsletter experience and we’d love your feedback. If something looks off, help us by reporting it here. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg’s Balance of Power newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, sign up here to get it in your inbox. 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