It seems every European leader, from Keir Starmer to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wants a photo taken with Italy's Giorgia Meloni. But she is the first far-right prime minister since World War II, and when she was elected there was talk of her being a danger to Europe.
alexander stillThe former editor of Italy's Corriere della Sera and now a journalism professor at Columbia University has watched her rise. He looks at the influences that shaped her, from her mother, a romance novelist, to her time in the controversial government of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. And most surprisingly, the Lord of the Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkein.
michael safi We hear that Meloni's support for Ukraine and NATO, as well as her pragmatic approach to politics, seem to have won the hearts of European leaders. But what does she really want? Could she be more extreme than she seems if the far right continues to rise in Europe?
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