Giorgia Meloni’s government became the longest serving in Italy’s republican history last month. This unusual political longevity, a moderate foreign policy, a certain personal charisma and even a recent spat with Donald Trump have combined to sharpen Meloni’s profile as the go-to leader on the European right.

Meloni’s personal approval rating – at about 41% – is one of the highest among west European leaders. Her far-right Brothers of Italy party has retained most of its support – a striking feat in our anti-incumbent era and by Italian standards, an achievement.

Yet all this may not suffice for her ruling coalition to be returned to power at Italy’s next election, in 2027.

Even before this week’s riots in Milan, Meloni’s greatest challenge was emerging from her far right, in the form of a new movement led by the former army general, Roberto Vannacci. The firebrand demagogue will, like Marine Le Pen in France, certainly seek to exploit the unrest to promote his party’s law-and-order credentials. If he succeeds, it could come at the expense of Meloni’s ruling coalition.

Vannacci was a high-ranking officer of almost 40 years’ service when in 2023 he self-published Il mondo al contrario (The World Turned Upside Down). Filled with hyper-conservative misgivings about such supposed western ills as cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism and feminism, Vannacci’s book became a sensation and the general was suspended from the armed forces.

But Vannacci’s extreme positions and abrasive style quickly made him a regular media presence, and with public attention came political interest. Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right........

© The Guardian