Giorgia Meloni made history in 2022 when she became Italy’s first female prime minister. She quickly signalled her ideological affinity with Donald Trump and positioned herself as a bridge between the MAGA movement in the United States and Europe’s radical right. She was also the only European leader invited to attend Trump’s second inauguration in 2025. Renaud Lefort examines how the relationship between Trump and Meloni has evolved since then, alongside Meloni’s changing role within the European Union. While she has sought to strengthen Italy’s influence in Brussels, critics argue that she has moderated some of her more hardline positions in order to remain politically influential. The report features an interview with Gianfranco Fini, founder of the post-fascist National Alliance, where Meloni began her political career more than two decades ago. Historian and Italian politics specialist Marc Lazar also assesses Meloni’s first three years in office, examining what he describes as authoritarian tendencies in her approach to governing.​