The Brothers of Italy party successfully combined traditional right-wing politics with antiestablishment populism by positioning itself, in the early 2020s, as the primary outlet for public discontent while simultaneously maintaining a distinct ideological identity.
Scholars have identified Brothers of Italy as a convergence of two trends: the post-fascist Italian right—rooted in the legacy of the Italian Social Movement, a party founded by supporters of Benito Mussolini in 1946—and the antiestablishment politics that have taken hold in Europe and the U.S. since the early 2010s. Several factors have resulted in the party’s ascent to greater power, including:
(1) As the only major party in opposition to Mario Draghi’s national unity government (2021–22), Brothers of Italy became the sole political vehicle for Italian voters frustrated with the status quo.
(2) The party has utilized populist, identity-focused rhetoric. Prior to the national election in 2022, for example, party leader Giorgia Meloni described her platform as “Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology…no to Islamist violence, yes to secure borders, no to mass migration…no to big international finance…no to the bureaucrats of Brussels!”