On September 4th Giorgia Meloni will become Italy’s longest continuously serving prime minister since Benito Mussolini(贝尼托·墨索里尼，意大利法西斯独裁者). Her tenure(任期) is remarkable in a country where leaders tend to be as durable as gelato on a hot Rome day. Since taking office in October 2022 she has watched prime ministers in once-stable Britain, France and the Netherlands come and go(来来去去). Having risen to power as a hard-right populist, she has reshaped Italian politics and put herself at its centre.(作为极右翼民粹主义者上台后，她重塑了意大利政治，并使自己成为其核心。) For other populist-right leaders in Europe, her lesson seems clear: tacking to the middle(转向中间路线) pays off.
9月4日，焦尔吉娅·梅洛尼将成为自贝尼托·墨索里尼以来意大利连续任职时间最长的总理。在一个领导人往往像罗马炎热天气下的冰淇淋一样难以持久的国家，她的任期实属非凡。自2022年10月就职以来，她目睹了曾经稳定的英国、法国和荷兰的首相们来来去去。作为极右翼民粹主义者上台后，她重塑了意大利政治，并使自己成为其核心。对于欧洲其他民粹主义右翼领导人，她的经验似乎很明确：向中间靠拢是值得的。
To be sure, the position of Ms Meloni and her Brothers of Italy (FdI) party is hardly ironclad(坚不可摧的). In March voters rejected a referendum(公投) on justice reforms that she had made a personal priority. Economic growth is minimal: in the second quarter GDP rose at an annual rate of 1%, and the last of the European Union’s billions in post-covid recovery aid will soon run out(耗尽). By year’s end, Italy is expected to replace Greece as the euro-zone state with the highest rate of public debt.(到今年年底，意大利预计将取代希腊，成为欧元区公共债务率最高的国家。)
诚然，梅洛尼女士及其意大利兄弟党（FdI）的地位并非固若金汤。3月，选民否决了她视为个人优先事项的司法改革公投。经济增长微乎其微：第二季度GDP年化增长率仅为1%，欧盟数十亿欧元的新冠疫情后复苏援助即将耗尽。到今年年底，意大利预计将取代希腊，成为欧元区公共债务率最高的国家。
Meanwhile a new party has emerged on the far right, led by an ex-general, Roberto Vannacci. It has attracted defector(叛逃者)s from the FdI’s right-wing coalition partner, the League. That has forced the prime minister to become more radical on issues ranging from migration to hunting.
与此同时，一个由前将军罗伯托·万纳奇领导的极右翼新党崛起。它吸引了来自意大利兄弟党右翼联盟伙伴“联盟党”的叛逃者。这迫使总理在从移民到狩猎等一系列问题上变得更加激进。