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We have been fans of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from the beginning. Now, even the liberals are starting to catch on. The London Times calls Meloni the “new Queen of Europe”:

[Home Secretary Yvette] Cooper’s presence will cement the growing view in diplomatic circles that Meloni has become one of the key figures in European politics and an influential voice on the right throughout the West.
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When Meloni first came to power, in October 2022, she was seen as riding the populist wave sweeping the West and some wondered how long she would last in a country notorious for the fragility of its governments. Yet two years on, Meloni is one of the most secure leaders in the European Union — and one of the most influential. With Angela Merkel gone, some in the corridors of power see Meloni succeeding the former German chancellor as the new queen of European politics.

Roberto D’Alimonte, a politics professor at Luiss University in Rome, said: “She is the only prime minister of a major EU country who can expect to be there in three years — it’s a kind of stability Italy is not known for.” A senior official in the last Tory government put it more bluntly: “When she hosted the G7 meeting [in June], everyone else was a dead man walking.”

A striking observation! Joe Biden was not alone.

Liberals generally seem surprised when conservatives govern effectively:

Meloni’s government has also surprised many of its allies with the way she has combined a tough and effective crackdown on immigration without embracing the hardline approach associated with Italy’s neo-fascists (12 of whom were arrested last week for trying to assassinate her). …

She has also grown her power by quietly forming an effective alliance with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to tackle immigration — an issue that brought Brussels out in hives when David Cameron sought curbs on free movement before the EU referendum in 2016.

D’Alimonte said: “Even Scandinavian social democratic parties are waking up to the issue. She is on the right side of the right issue at the right time.” …

More:

But in two other ways, Meloni has emerged as a serious player. First, her pragmatism — and a willingness to work with the European Commission — has distinguished Meloni from other populist leaders in Europe, such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban and France’s Marine Le Pen. “She has shown populists can be pragmatists,” D’Alimonte said. “She is smart enough to know populism wins elections but is not the way to govern. She has been pragmatic about the EU, Nato and her budgets, which are not packed with giveaways.”

And other leaders actually like Meloni, which turns out to be an advantage:

Second, Meloni has emerged as one of the world’s best proponents of personal diplomacy. After she sat next to Donald Trump following the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the president-elect called her “a real live wire”. A day later he said: “She’s fantastic, she is a fantastic leader and person.”

Meloni is also close to Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and key Trump whisperer who has been appointed by the president-elect to slash US government waste. In September, when Musk presented her with an award at a Washington ceremony, she praised his “precious genius” while Musk called Meloni “more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside”.

And so on. The Times quotes a British official who says, “She’s funny, she’s flirty, she’s charismatic with quite a gravelly voice. She gets on with with people who are different from her.”

If this keeps up, liberal newspapers might even stop claiming, in every story about Meloni, that her Brothers of Italy party has “roots” in Italy’s Neo-fascist movement. Wouldn’t the world be a great place if every news story that mentions the Democratic Party recited the fact that it has its “roots” in pro-slavery secessionism?

In any event, it is fun to see Giorgia Meloni taking her place as one of the world’s foremost leaders and, no doubt, a valuable future ally for President Donald Trump.