Meloni pledges school ban on burqas and niqabs in Italy

Rome – Italy’s longest‑serving post‑war administration, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is confronting a renewed electoral challenge as a far‑right rival party gains momentum ahead of the scheduled national elections in October. The Meloni cabinet, which has remained in power for more than a decade—a tenure unmatched since the end of World War II—has overseen a series of economic reforms and a tightening of immigration policies that have defined its centre‑right agenda. Recent opinion polls show the challenger, a nationalist formation that has capitalised on public discontent over cost‑of‑living pressures, narrowing the gap with the governing coalition and threatening to erode the prime minister’s parliamentary majority.

Political analysts attribute the shift to a combination of factors, including rising unemployment among youth, concerns about energy prices, and a perception that the incumbent government has not fully delivered on promised infrastructure projects. The opposition’s campaign focuses on a more hard