Before her election as Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni faced accusations day in and day out that she was a ‘fascist’ because some members of her Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party once belonged to the old Movimento Sociale Italiano, which was formed after the second world war by previous adherents of dictator Benito Mussolini. As Greg Sheridan and this correspondent have pointed out, such accusations were totally baseless. Thus, the initial diagnosis of Meloni Derangement Syndrome.

Just as was (and still is) the case with Trump Derangement Syndrome (and, in this country, Abbott Derangement Syndrome), its symptoms range from pettiness to irrationality and hatred.

The Left, of course, could not bring itself to celebrate Meloni’s election as Italy’s first female Prime Minister. Meloni is not their kind of woman. Instead, we see Italian women marching in the streets with their ‘No Meloni Day’ demonstrations, just like the ‘Not My President’ nonsense in America after Trump’s election. They prefer the Patroness of Woke also known as Jacinda of the Shaky Isles (sorry, Aotearoa). As we know, Jacinda, on a huge carbon-emitting trip to Antarctica, had to be rescued by the Italian Air Force when her ageing RNZAF plane broke down and couldn’t leave. Gee, those so-called ‘fascists’ are nasty.

The Italian daily il Giornale has been reporting – with a mix of sarcasm and reality checks – on the effects of Meloni Derangement Syndrome. In a recent report it noted that Italian women of the left stiamo rosicando, ma è molto difficile (it’s hard, we’re fuming!) after Meloni’s election. They were particularly upset that Meloni has declared that she will be referred to with the masculine definite article, as in ‘il Presidente del Consiglio’, rather than the feminine ‘la Presidente’, or worse ‘la Prima Ministra’. This polemic arises since women ministers (of the left) had previously decided to virtue signal and call themselves ‘la Ministra’ rather than ‘il Ministro’. Former Speaker of the Italian lower house (the Chamber of Deputies), Laura Boldrini, has been seething with rage, accusing Meloni of, among other things, ‘betraying feminism’. However, as Meloni said in riposte:

‘Leggo che il principale tema di discussione di oggi sarebbe su circolari burocratiche interne, più o meno sbagliate, attorno al grande tema di come definire la prima donna Presidente del Consiglio. Fate pure. Io mi sto occupando di bollette, tasse, lavoro, certezza della pena, manovra di bilancio. Per come la vedo io, potete chiamarmi come credete, anche Giorgia.’

‘I read that the main topic of discussion today would be on internal bureaucratic memos, more or less wrong, on the hugely important topic of how the first female Presidente del Consiglio should be referred to. Go right ahead. My focus is on energy bills, taxes, jobs, law and order, and the budget. As I see it, you can call me what you like, even Giorgia.’

Ouch!

As il Giornale also pointed out, Meloni has the guardian of the Italian language since the Renaissance, l’Accademia dell Crusca, on her side. The Accademia noted that a preference for the masculine or feminine gender in such circumstances rests entirely with the individual. If one prefers the more traditional masculine gender, that person has every right to do so. What is more, grammatically, in such circumstances the definite article actually refers to the office itself, not the person, and so has a neutral function.

Common sense analysis on this issue is coming from everyday Italians, as reported in il Giornale. ‘Who cares about a definite article? As long as she gets the job done!’

A further manifestation of Meloni Derangement Syndrome centres on frothing at the mouth over the newly announced crackdown on illegal raves, which attract thousands from all over Europe and go on for days. Such events, as one can imagine, are havens for drunkenness, drug use, and criminality – hence the crackdown. The recent rave party at Modena saw ubiquitous drug dealing and attacks on the police for days on end. The crackdown has seen Meloni Derangement Syndrome sufferers scream that Meloni wants to ban protests and that this proposed law was a ‘freedom-killing monster’. This claim comes from, among others, Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, when protests were banned and people could not go 200 metres from their homes.

Meloni dealt with this bile, as she always does, with the cold hard facts:

‘Ho sentito dire di tutto, che vogliamo vietare le manifestazioni. Non c’è nulla di più distante dalla mia storia, sono cose che non stanno nè in cielo nè in terra. L’obiettivo del governo è impedire che il rave si faccia illegamente, bisogna rispettare chi lavora regolarmente: Lo Stato che fa finta di non vedere chi se ne infischia delle regole è finito. La storia di chi non vuole rispettare le norme dello Stato è finite. Qualsiasi cosa tu voglia fare, tu devi rispettare le leggi.’

‘I’ve heard everything, That we want to ban protests. Nothing could be further from my plan. This is complete nonsense. The government’s aim is to stop illegal raves. Those who go about their jobs lawfully must be respected. The days of the State turning a blind eye to those who don’t give a damn about the law are over. The days of people having no respect for the laws of this country are over. Whatever you want to do, you have to abide by the law.’

Meloni added that if anyone had any sensible proposals to amend the law to make it work better, they could bring them before the Parliament, since that is what it is there for. So much for being a fascist and a reactionary!

Notwithstanding the increasing shrieking that sufferers of Meloni Derangement Syndrome exhibit, Meloni’s poll standing keeps getting better. According to the latest data, Meloni has a 66 per cent approval rating, and her party’s poll position has actually improved since the election.

Meloni Derangement Syndrome may not be such a bad thing after all.

Dr Rocco Loiacono is a legal academic, writer and translator