Almost four years after taking power, Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia is still Italy’s largest party. Yet in recent months, the polling lead for Meloni’s right-wing coalition has been steadily eroded — and political setbacks have now started coming.In March, voters rejected a planned justice reform in a national referendum. Meloni’s once-warm relationship with the Trump administration has also become a liability given the US president’s deep unpopularity in Italy, and it has cooled into mild friction as Washington’s rift with Europe widens. Recent surveys also show Meloni’s base weakening among working-class voters. With national elections due in 2027, it’s no longer certain that her right-wing coalition can hold onto power.This is the political backdrop against which Silvia Salis, a forty-year-old former Olympic hammer thrower, has gone from local mayor of Genoa to anti-Meloni candidate-in-waiting.This spring, Italy’s most influential mass media outlets have run, in close succession, what amounts to a convergent celebration of Salis. Outlets such as La Stampa, Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, and Vanity Fair Italia have produced a steady stream of cover stories, sympathetic profiles, and indulgent interviews. Vanity Fair Italia’s April 22 cover even echoed its 2013 portrait of centrist Matteo Renzi, just before he rose to the leadership of the Partito Democratico (PD) and then the prime minister’s office.The international press has also taken its cue from the Italian media. Last month, Bloomberg christened Salis as the “anti-Meloni”; the Guardian depicted her as a progressive icon; and Germany’s FAZ cast her as a promising new star of Italian politics.Yet much of this coverage appears strikingly thin on policy and substance. It is a buildup of hype and vibes that leaves one wondering why so much attention is being devoted to her in the first place. To understand why Italy’s mainstream press has suddenly converged on Salis,…
