Jews should be more worried about Italy’s next prime minister

Giorgia Meloni has repudiated fascism and expressed support for Israel, but Jews should know better than to feel comfortable with her far-Right views.

Although Italy’s new prime minister will only be formally appointed in mid-October, it seems certain to be Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party.

Hers will be the most right-wing Italian government since Mussolini allied with Hitler in World War II.

The Italian Jewish community has been cautious in its response. Many Jewish leaders have declined to comment and some of those who have gone on the record have praised her repudiation of Nazism and her support of Jewish candidate Ester Mieli, who was elected as a Brothers of Italy parliamentarian at the September elections.

There is no evidence that Meloni subscribes to antisemitic views, and she is friendlier to Israel than many European leaders.

But it would be naïve for Jews to feel comfortable with a leader who comes out of Italy’s fascist tradition, leverages her Christian faith for political ends, and uses harsh rhetoric against Muslims and other migrants.

Jews are used to being the canary in the coal mine of political discourse, the first to feel rising tides of hate and oppression.

But in contemporary Europe it is often Muslims and Africans who are the first victims of populist xenophobia. The Holocaust made antisemitism too blatantly unacceptable for a populist push and waves of migration have delivered easier targets.