Beware the far right in Italy and Europe

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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The message on campaign posters for Giorgia Meloni read "Pronti"— "Ready." It was meant to signal that the Italian candidate — whose party, Brothers of Italy, won the most votes in the Sept. 25 election — was prepared to be prime minister.

But it also sparks a question: Is Italy — and the European Union and the U.S. — ready for a leader in Rome whose party descended from fascist roots?

While a youthful Meloni expressed admiration for Benito Mussolini, Italy's ill-fated fascist dictator during the World War II years, today she condemns the era. The Brothers of Italy have "handed fascism to history" and "unambiguously condemns the suppression of democracy" that allowed Mussolini to take over Italy in the 1920s, Meloni, 45, said while campaigning.

Italians, Europeans and Americans may be reassured, but they should scrutinize Meloni's deeds and her words. Her coalition partners, Matteo Salvini and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, aren't so convincing, especially in their rhetoric regarding Russia.

Meloni, conversely, has sent reassuring signals on Italy's support for Ukraine's righteous fight against Russian aggression. With Italy a vital member of the European Union and NATO, such consistency is crucial, especially as Russian President Vladimir Putin weaponizes energy and economic and migration challenges in his quest to sap Western unity on sanctioning Russia and arming Ukraine.

Meloni has also expressed euroskepticism, which is at least better than her previous call for Italy to leave the European Union. As the economic mess in the U.K. shows, an Italian version of Brexit is not the answer. And in Italy's case, the E.U. is set to supply a lifeline in the form of an impending 200-billion-euro COVID-recovery payment contingent on fiscal and other governance reform, making it likely that under Meloni Rome will likely work with, not against, Brussels (at least initially).

Where Italy goes from there remains to be seen. But it won't be the only challenge to the European Union, especially after parties in Spain and other nations try to replicate Sweden's lurch rightward.

"The victory of [Brothers of Italy], combined with strong showings in Sweden and France, the governments of Poland and Hungary that are dominated by far-right parties, is alarming," Mary Curtin, diplomat-in-residence at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School, told an editorial writer. "And it comes at the same time that we are seeing in this country very strong far-right movements. And so it has implications for democracy in each of those countries; it has implications for issues like tolerance of migrants, other protection of minorities, that are important in and of themselves, but it also has implications for the strength of both the E.U. and NATO."

However, the far-right movements testing international institutions will face their own test in governance.

"There is an argument to be made that [for] some of these far-right parties … [it's best] to hold them at arm's length," Frances Burwell, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, told an editorial writer. "And there's an argument to be made that that has allowed them to influence politics but not take any of the responsibility." Once given the privilege and the opportunity to govern, Burwell added, the public can determine their competence.

Curtin added that the U.S. should uphold its values in evaluating the new Italian government. "In dealing with governments like this, we need to be very careful about being willing to overlook their violations of democratic principles because of other things" — and that includes Ukraine.

Most importantly, Curtin added, "We have to be, as always, very attentive to the strength of our own democracy and to the strength of groups like this within our own country."