The difficulty of no longer being the underdog, according to young Meloni supporters at the Gn party

A late-summer breeze blows over the EUR lake, and any passer-by who walks straight past without pausing to read the signs reminding them that this is ‘Il tempo del coraggio’ – and thus the National Youth Festival, organised by Giorgia Meloni’s young ‘Brothers’ – might be misled by the stage from which the Dalai Lama’s representative in Europe is speaking via video link: the president of the World Congress of the Oppressed Uyghur People in China, and Roberto Giachetti, MP for Italia Viva and a long-standing Radical Party member, who is recounting the time when the Radicals were arrested in Poland behind the Iron Curtain. In short, until FdI Senator Andrea De Priamo – himself a champion of Tibet – takes the floor, one might think they were at a transnational conference in honour of Emma Bonino. Yet this is in fact the epicentre of ‘Fenix’, the four-day event that Gioventù Nazionale has organised around that one word: courage.

Meanwhile, on the opposing side—that is, among the Young Democrats—someone will have to pluck up the courage to resolve the controversy, after the Young Democrats’ secretary, Virginia Libero, said, “We will not be the soldiers in your wars; we will organise the deserters”. But at the EUR, whilst the day’s other debate once again defies the patron’s disbelief (Il coraggio del nucleare featuring Environment Minister Pichetto-Fratin – a sign that young post-social-right figures are repositioning themselves), if courage is lacking, it must be summoned through bold slogans on green and red placards, featuring quotes from Giorgio Almirante, Gabriele D’Annunzio and even Oasis, alongside original contributions from Meloni’s supporters: these range from ‘We shall chase the fleeing sun’ to ‘The anarchist fights his own wars even when marching in formation’. Setting aside the fervour, one is taken aback by a slogan one would not expect these days: “L’Europa o va a destra o non si fa”.

What does this mean? Andrea Catalini, president of Azione Studentesca Roma, explains: “It is the approach that Meloni applies within the EU, with patience and pragmatism. I prefer a government capable of making its own truths resonate even on the lips of its opponents – to quote Almirante once more – in response to those who make election promises that never materialise”. Among the stands explaining the ‘Mediterranean Ideas’, with a focus on the Mattei Plan, one senses, says Catalini, ‘the difficulty in adequately communicating the results achieved’. Are you no longer the underdogs? ‘Sometimes it is difficult, for a youth organisation, to combine support for the government with the ability to be innovative, without taking a step backwards’. If you’re looking for solidarity with the Democrat Libero, you won’t find it here. Catalini describes her remark as “chilling and indefensible”. Meloni’s young supporters aren’t afraid of being “normalised” because of their proximity to the government. On the contrary, says Francesco Todde, president of Gioventù Nazionale Roma: “We are proud, as the Roman federation, to once again be hosting the national GN festival. We’re fresh from a huge success: the first Gioventù Nazionale Roma festival last May, which drew thousands of young people over three days.” Setting pride aside, isn’t Gioventù Nazionale worried that Meloni might suffer under the threat from Vannacca? “It makes more noise to bandy about the term ‘remigration’,” says Todde, “than to commit to implementing the new EU Migration Pact.” ‘Courage and pride,’ Oriana Fallaci would have said, but at the EUR lake it’s just courage. Andrea Piepoli, a national leader of the youth movement and co-organiser of the festival alongside Fabio Roscani, explains: ‘Today, new forms of fear are being fuelled and labelled: “FOMO”, “eco-anxiety”. It’s an attempt to trap our generation in a corner. We, on the other hand, want to convey a message of hope and optimism.” Piepoli has just returned from a trip to Lebanon in the name of “saving a predominantly Christian country that plays an important role on the Middle Eastern stage. As for Ukraine, to those who speak of desertion I say: defending Ukraine means defending the EU.” Thirty-year-old Giorgia, who shares her name with the Prime Minister whom she has “always admired precisely for her courage”, describes the difficulty of being involved in right-wing politics in Turin, “a city where left-wing violence exists. But we do not want to take a step backwards, starting with the neighbourhoods where hardship is rife”. On the lawn, the debate between Senate President Ignazio La Russa and the editor-in-chief of Fattoquotidiano.it, Peter Gomez, is about to begin. They will discuss electoral law, the RAI, Sigfrido Ranucci and Vannacci. “The right would have already kissed him on the mouth if he were like the left,” says La Russa, with all due respect to the more relaxing car tax.