Fratelli d'Italia's Sovereignism and Conservativism. Notes on Ambiguity and Normalisation

The chapter focuses on Fratelli d’Italia’s sovereignism and conservativism. In particular, how those two ideologies have been used, often in an ambiguous way, to frame a normalisation process that aims at balancing continuity and distance from the party’s neo and post-fascist roots. The party’s symbol, the tricolour flame, is very emblematic in this regard. In the chapter, we namely argue how such ambiguity, far from being merely symbolic or preserving a tradition, characterises the policies of the current Meloni government both at the domestic and international levels. Almost two years after taking office, the government has embarked on a path of minimal friction with the institutions of the EU, its regional and international allies (NATO, in particular), alongside financial markets. The path of seeking moderation at the international/regional level has rarely been abandoned. In contrast, the government led by Meloni has often been radical at the domestic level, pursuing both radical policies based on symbolic “culture wars” to polarise the Italian electorate and more structural