Italy weighs the results as Giorgia Meloni’s government sets a longevity record

ROME (AP) — In a country where governments are famously short-lived, the perceived success of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has often been attributed to her survival skills rather than her accomplishments. Meloni’s conservative administration became Italy’s longest-serving uninterrupted government since World War II at 1,413 days on Thursday, surpassing the record set by the late Silvio Berlusconi between 2001-2005. Meloni and her party will celebrate the feat on Friday with a huge preelection rally in the southern city of Bari.

Meloni, straightforward and pragmatic, has managed to stave off the crises and defections that have toppled past governments. The results from this uncharacteristic period of stability — or lack thereof — is what may ultimately define Meloni’s legacy, and the odds of remaining in power for a new mandate. “If you have five years in office and not much to show when you go back to voters, it can weigh against you,” said Nathalie Tocci, an international relations expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University.

From outsider to insider When Meloni took office in October 2022, she was Italy’s first female prime minister. Her government was also the first led by a party with neo-fascist roots, and European allies and financial markets viewed Meloni with unease. But Meloni has largely governed practically.

She maintained constant support for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion, worked within European institutions and embraced fiscal discipline. President Donald Trump became one of her most notable foreign policy assets. While political instability has reshaped governments elsewhere in Europe — including the United Kingdom and France — Meloni has kept the same coalition in place since taking office, a rarity in modern Italian politics and a central pillar of her reelection bid.

“Meloni has reaped a part of what she sowed, because I know few people so determined, so hardworking, so precise, so meticulous, who have sacrificed both their human and private spheres in order to serve the institutions,” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday. “She is not reaping the same on the Italian level.” Heading toward the next election, due by the e…