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The economy has been both a blessing and a curse for Melonism
Six figures to understand what the Meloni government – the longest-serving in the history of the Republic – has and hasn’t done
Photo: Palazzo Chigi Press Office for LaPresse
It’s a week of records: Giorgia Meloni celebrated in Bari the 1,412 days of the longest-serving government in the history of the Republic. But to truly understand these four years, we need other figures – three positive and three negative. Among the positives is the spread, which has fallen from 232 points in October 2022 to around 80: a reduction of almost two-thirds. Then there is employment: the number of people in work has risen from 23.2 to 24.4 million – an increase of over a million – whilst the unemployment rate has fallen from 7.8 per cent to 5.8 per cent. Finally, exports: from 626 billion in 2022 to 643 in 2025, whilst the trade balance has shifted from a deficit of 31 to a surplus of 51 billion. The downsides, however, are just as evident. Growth remains weak: in 2025, Italy grew by 0.5 per cent compared with 1.4 per cent for the eurozone. The tax burden has risen from 41.7 per cent of GDP in 2022 to 43.1 per cent in 2025. Wages and energy costs remain sore points, despite the surge in tax evasion recoveries, which have risen from 20.2 to 29 billion. The economy has thus been both a blessing and a curse for Meloni’s government: prudence, credibility, employment and investor confidence on the one hand; low growth, high taxes and expensive utility bills on the other. Meloni has succeeded where many predicted failure: in establishing credibility. Now she must succeed where she has so far been less convincing: in transforming that credibility into growth.
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Nasce a Palermo nel 1982, vive a Roma da parecchio tempo, lavora al Foglio dal 2005 e da gennaio 2015 è direttore. Ha scritto qualche libro (“Le catene della destra” e “Le catene della sinistra”, con Rizzoli, “Io non posso tacere”, con Einaudi, “Tra l’asino e il cane. Conversazione sull’Italia”, con Rizzoli, “La Presa di Roma”, con Rizzoli, e "Ho visto l'uomo nero", con Castelvecchi), è su Twitter.
E’ interista, ma soprattutto palermitano. Va pazzo per i Green Day, gli Strokes, i Killers, i tortini al cioccolato e le ostriche ghiacciate. Due figli.