William Hilderbrandt is pleased to welcome Dr. Giulia Sandri, Associate researcher at the Free University of Brussels. Meloni has benefited from something historically scarce in Italian politics: longevity. Four years of governmental stability have allowed her to accumulate diplomatic relationships, strengthening Italy’s position within Europe and giving Rome greater visibility internationally. Yet Sandri argues that this political success sits alongside a much less decisive domestic record. Improvements in employment and fiscal credibility coexist with weak growth, stagnant wages, declining purchasing power and persistent structural problems in healthcare, education, demographics and public administration.