Wall Street Journal Crowns Meloni Style as Europe’s Most Stable Government
The Wall Street Journal credits Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with building Europe's most stable government through combativeness and pragmatism while the continent faces political chaos.
According to Il Giornale, the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper highlighted how Meloni, at 49 years old and Italy’s first female prime minister, has constructed an executive that is on track to become the longest-serving government in the history of the Italian Republic while the rest of Europe struggles with political chaos.
In her piece, journalist Margherita Stancati contrasts Italian stability with turmoil elsewhere across the continent. France under Macron has cycled through four prime ministers in less than two years. Germany faces the far-right as its leading party. The United Kingdom is on its seventh prime minister in a decade following Starmer’s resignation announcement. In Italy, the Wall Street Journal notes with irony, the most pressing controversy is the national football team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.
The Journal traces Meloni’s political trajectory from her candidacy for mayor of Rome through the founding of Brothers of Italy and her electoral victory in 2022. The American newspaper emphasizes that her style has been pragmatic and institutional from the start, characterized by immediate responses when she perceives attacks on her personal dignity or that of Italy.
The so-called “Meloni style” is described as direct and aggressive, illustrated through two symbolic episodes. The first was her public break with Andrea Giambruno following his off-air scandal in 2023. The second involves an encounter with governor De Luca, whom she reportedly greeted with the words “I’m that bitch Meloni.” This same approach, the newspaper argues, has allowed her to maintain her populist base while winning over moderate conservatives.
The centerpiece of the Wall Street Journal analysis focuses on Meloni’s relationship with Trump. She moved from being a privileged European ally—sharing ideological affinity with the MAGA movement, maintaining closeness to Musk, and serving as the only EU leader at the 2025 inauguration—to open confrontation. The rupture emerged from the war in Iran, specifically the February attack, which exposed Italy to energy pressure and pushed the prime minister toward the Gulf states and Algeria. European refusal to participate irritated Trump, who renewed threats to withdraw from NATO.
Relations deteriorated sharply when Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV. In a Catholic nation like Italy, as Il Giornale reports the Journal explaining, this crossed a red line. Meloni called the insults “unacceptable,” receiving the same adjective back from the president. A G7 summit in France appeared to mend fences, but Trump then claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a photo opportunity.
The prime minister’s response exemplified her signature style. She released a 33-second video dismissing the claims as completely invented and delivered a strong patriotic message: neither she nor Italy begs anyone.
Meloni’s coalition has survived this long, the Wall Street Journal concludes, because it has avoided creating disorder and managed Italian finances effectively amid significant geopolitical storms. Her distinctive style has proven capable of standing up even to a figure like Trump while maintaining government stability.
With information from Il Giornale
