Giorgia Meloni

Rule Changes

Says the EU is 'all over the place' on Ukraine and wants a single envoy for talks with Russia

European leaders rejected a US-Russia framework for the continent's security and warned it could weaken NATO. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Moscow has no veto over European security, and Poland's foreign minister called a deal reached above Europe's head impossible.

Updated 5 hours ago

Force in Play

Blamed pro-Russian hackers for the leak

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Nov. 7 that his personal data had been published on the dark web over several days, along with an offer to pay for more information about him and his family. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed pro-Russian hackers. Tajani linked the targeting to Italy's support for Ukraine.

Updated Yesterday

Rule Changes

Leading the right-wing coalition that pushed the nuclear law through Parliament; says first nuclear output within the next decade

Italy's nuclear return law took effect October 15, starting a 12-month clock for the government to write reactor rules. Law No. 169, passed by the Senate 81-51 on September 23, is the first legal path back to atomic power since a 1987 referendum closed Italy's four plants.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Questioning legality of U.S.-Israeli military actions; coordinating Strait protection efforts

On Friday, October 30 (Day 245), Iran's Revolutionary Guard said three oil tankers hit mines or caught fire while using routes Tehran has not approved. It said one supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels struck a naval mine and burned. Separately, a small boat attached explosives to the tanker Louise 1 off Oman, causing an engine-room fire that was put out.

Updated Oct 30

Money Moves

Won the cabinet's approval of the 2027 budget on 28 October. Said the energy bills decree was delayed for technical checks. Meloni said the result came after last-minute talks with Brussels.

On 28 October the cabinet approved a €26bn budget for 2027, which Rome says is about €2.5bn more than planned because Brussels allowed extra energy spending. Italy will pay for part of it with higher taxes on banks, insurers, energy firms and gambling operators. Banks' corporate tax (IRES) rises to 30.5%, and the deficit is projected at 3.4% of GDP in 2027.

Updated Oct 29

Rule Changes

Her reform is in force; her advisers are split between a June and an October 2027 election

Italy's electoral reform took effect on 24 October, 15 days after President Sergio Mattarella signed it and the text ran in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. Opposition parties said they would start filing constitutional challenges the following Monday, with the procedure presented at a Senate press conference.

Updated Oct 29

Rule Changes

Extended Italy's checks by seven days on Oct 16, then agreed on Oct 22 to lift them with Spain

Italy and Spain agreed on October 22 to end the border checks they had imposed on each other. The decision followed a phone call between the interior ministers, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Matteo Piantedosi.

Updated Oct 27

Rule Changes

Thanked law enforcement after the October 24 marches produced isolated clashes and nine arrests nationwide

Thousands marched in eight Italian cities on October 24 and Milan stayed calm. Police reported nine arrests nationwide, 87 people referred to authorities and 371 taken in for checks, 110 of them minors.

Updated Oct 26

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: In office; championed the school decree

Italy's cabinet approved a decree-law on Sept. 24 that bans face coverings in schools and caps at 30% the share of first-year students with weak Italian in any one class. The text still needs President Sergio Mattarella's signature; it is due at the Quirinale on Sept. 28 after funding was settled. Parliament then has 60 days to ratify the decree or it lapses.

Updated Sep 26

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy in protest

For roughly 270 years, under Ottoman, British, Jordanian, and Israeli rule, a delicate arrangement called the "status quo" has kept worship running at Jerusalem's holiest sites, even through wars and occupations. On Palm Sunday March 29, 2026, Israeli police broke that streak by turning away Cardinal Pizzaballa, the senior Catholic leader in Jerusalem, though only four church representatives were entering without a procession.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Concedes referendum defeat as 'lost opportunity'; plans to continue mandate ahead of 2027 elections

Italy's postwar constitution placed judges and prosecutors in a single, self-governing body to prevent a repeat of fascist-era political control over the courts. On March 22-23, 2026, voters rejected the Nordio Reform by 53.23% to 46.77%. The reform would have separated judicial and prosecutorial careers, split the governing council, and replaced elections with a lottery.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Attended April 17 Paris summit; Italy 'ready to play its part'; linked Hormuz security to global food security; maintained non-combat conditions

Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli strikes, cutting off roughly a fifth of global oil supply. The US-Iran ceasefire, extended by Trump on April 21, holds formally. But Iran's May 10 counter-proposal demanded Iranian sovereignty over the strait, an end to all US sanctions, and an immediate lifting of the naval blockade. Trump called the response "totally unacceptable," and roughly 1,500 commercial vessels remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: In office; signed the decree into law

For more than 160 years, anyone who could trace an unbroken bloodline to an Italian ancestor could claim Italian citizenship, no matter how many generations had passed. On March 12, 2026, Italy's Constitutional Court upheld a law that ended that principle, capping eligibility at people with an Italian-born parent or grandparent and requiring that ancestor to have held only Italian citizenship. The ruling cuts off millions of descendants in Brazil, Argentina, the United States, and elsewhere who could previously claim an Italian passport and the right to live and work anywhere in the European Union.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: In office since October 2022

Brazil protected Argentina's embassy in Caracas for 14 months after Nicolás Maduro expelled Argentine diplomats in July 2024. That arrangement ended January 16, 2026, when Italy assumed custodianship. The shift was triggered by Brazil's opposition to the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro two weeks earlier, and accelerated by Argentine President Milei's sustained social media attacks on Brazilian President Lula.

Updated May 21