Italy’s next prime minister probably isn’t fascist, but American conservatives should be more careful before embracing her politics

Some comments are in order on the Italian elections a few days ago which will probably lead to Giorgia Meloni becoming the head of the Italian government. The election this past weekend was the most recent in a wave of recent European elections in which hard-right conservative parties made surprising victories in some surprising places, and that is drawing applause from some American conservatives along with angst from American (and European) liberals. Unfortunately, some American conservatives, particularly those in the developing “National Conservative” wing of the American conservative political spectrum, are looking to these European developments and drawing what may be bad lessons from them.

Mainstream American media, following their European counterparts, are raising an alarm that Italy is making a turn to the hard right or far right. Some are citing the roots of Meloni’s party, Fratelli d’Italia (“Brothers of Italy”) which is generally considered the heir of Benito Mussolini’s political movement, as not only “far right” but “fascist.”

Most of the time when people accuse conservatives of being “fascist,” they don’t know the meaning of the word. Too many merely use the word “fascist” as a slur to attack conservatives who support the military and police, are populist, and advocate nationalism and patriotism.