Communication and Politics: Giorgia Meloni, a Prime Minister between Pop Propaganda and Nationalism

Abstract

On 25 September, the Italian citizens have voted for the renewal of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic, political elections that gave as a result the victory of the centre - right coalition led by the leader of the 'Fratelli d'Italia' party, Giorgia Meloni. A month later, the incoming cabinet headed by Meloni opens a new Italian legislature, which despite reflecting the expression of the majority of Italians at the ballot box, is undeniably controversial, both at national and international level. Within the benches of Italian institutions, there are indeed nostalgics of fascism, religious fundamentalists, anti-abortionists, and opponents of the Lgbtqi+ community, members belonging to a party which aim is to bring Italians together in the name of a nationalist and sovereigntist conception. Understanding the communicative strategies and political language used by the leader to build up a distinctive and well - structured party identity as well as the propaganda undertaken over the years preceding her premiership, is necessary to analyse the rise of a nationalist perspective in the Italian political and social arena. The success of ‘ Fratelli d'Italia ’ cannot be examined without taking into account the role of Giorgia Meloni and her communicative skills based on epithets, intimate politics and pop and informal speeches, factors that, combined with her use of the leading social platforms such as Facebook, have contributed to expand the party's sphere of influence over time, gaining consensus to the extent of turning the party into the driving force of the Italian centre-right. Therefore, this project proposes to investigate the main characteristics of the political language used by Giorgia Meloni since 2020, year marked by a substantial appreciation growth among the electorate such as to overtake the ‘ Partito Democratico ’ , which belongs to left – wing and represents one of the mainstream players in the political arena. The analysis will be conducted by examining posts, selected by sampling, published on Giorgia Meloni's Facebook page, which currently counts 2.5 million followers in order to understand the peculiarities and