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   Margarita Estévez-Abe (japanprof@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 08:45:19 JST Margarita Estévez-Abe

   #meloni and Italian politics continue to surprise us. Will she change the playbook of the European radical right? I'm so curious about how Marine Le Pen is looking at Giorgia Meloni's transformation. I'm no fan of the Fratelli d'Italia but feel very good about a woman out-smarting Salvini.
   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/21/giorgia-meloni-visit-kyiv-ukraine-voldymyr-zelenskiy-italy

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     Margarita Estévez-Abe (japanprof@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 09:17:05 JST Margarita Estévez-Abe

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova

     @PopovaProf I never ever thought that Giorgio Meloni would be so moderate. I was totally taken by surprise once her party won big and she became PM. I used to live in Italy and I would see her on TV saying things like “I’m a proud fascist”! Who would have thought she would become a center-right PM? Italian politics is fascinating (remember Berlusconi’s circus and the 5S movement). Let’s wait and see what Marine Le Pen would do.

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     Maria Popova (popovaprof@russiaukraine.world)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 09:17:06 JST Maria Popova

     in reply to

     @JapanProf Indeed. I saw an article in passing that talked precisely about Le Pen taking very careful notes. For one, Le Pen should reassess her pro-Putin stance

     Margarita Estévez-Abe repeated this.
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     Margarita Estévez-Abe (japanprof@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 13:35:21 JST Margarita Estévez-Abe

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova
     • themroc

     @ja_herre @PopovaProf very interesting. Thank you.

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     themroc (ja_herre@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 13:35:24 JST themroc

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova

     @PopovaProf @JapanProf
     M. Le Pen's position is very complicated because in 2014 the Rassemblement National took 9.4 million € loan from Russia. It was supposed to be repaid in 2019, but she had to renegotiate payments until 2028, and the party is still 24 m. euros in the red.
     And while the radical fringes of the far-right mostly supports Putin the country doesn't, and all her efforts of the last decade attempted to distance herself from the fringes to present as a more consensual candidate.

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     themroc (ja_herre@kolektiva.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 13:35:28 JST themroc

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova

     @PopovaProf @JapanProf
     The R.N. has to repay Aviazaptchast, an aviation spare parts company owned by Russian ex-militaries who got contracts like the maintenance of Russian air force planes in Syria.
     And last year they had to take an additional loan from a Hungarian bank.

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     Margarita Estévez-Abe (japanprof@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Feb-2023 13:38:10 JST Margarita Estévez-Abe

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova
     • themroc

     @ja_herre @PopovaProf oh, well. Difficult to feel sorry for Le Pen. It’s good that not all radical left types can emulate Meloni. Meloni was smart not to take money from Russians.

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     Maria Popova (popovaprof@russiaukraine.world)'s status on Thursday, 23-Feb-2023 20:48:24 JST Maria Popova

     in reply to

     • themroc

     @ja_herre @JapanProf Very interesting take! (and perfectly worded in English too ? Thanks

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     themroc (ja_herre@kolektiva.social)'s status on Thursday, 23-Feb-2023 20:48:25 JST themroc

     in reply to

     • Maria Popova

     @PopovaProf @JapanProf

     I think Meloni is an ambitious fascist, but that she might be more ambitious than fascist.
     The issue with an ambitious fascist playing the electoral game and coming to power is that they will most likely choose to implement fascistoid policies whenever an opportunity will present itself that does not compromise their power.
     But the good or at least better news is that an ambitious fascist might not feel inclined to weaken the institutions of the parliamentary system that put them in power.

     Another element is that IMO Giorgia Meloni would end up quite low comparatively were we to rank far-right Italian figureheads on scales of anti-parliamentarism or autocratic tendencies.
     That might be explained by the misogyny of her electoral base: neo-fascist and far-right Italians who despise parliamentary politics might agree to tactically designate a far right woman at the head of their government or their parliamentary group as long as they are within the parliamentary system, but most of them would never agree to put a woman into power in an autocracy, even as a secondary figure.

     I think Meloni understands that, and that she has relatively low autocratic tendencies because she knows those ultimately clash with her personal ambitions. She could most likely never be as important as she is now in an authoritarian, reactionary regime.

     English is not my first language, so if I wrote things weirdly, that's why.

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     Maria Popova (popovaprof@russiaukraine.world)'s status on Thursday, 23-Feb-2023 20:48:32 JST Maria Popova

     in reply to

     • themroc

     @JapanProf @ja_herre yes, interesting that so far Meloni fits the model of "radical comes to power and moderates to stay in power". I wonder why she went that route and how longer she'll stay on it.