Last Sunday, Italians voted for the most right-wing government since
Benito Mussolini. The controversial politician leading the winning
coalition, Giorgia Meloni, will become Italy's first female prime
minister.

Meloni has become a darling of sorts for many Republicans in America,
who invited her to speak at this year's CPAC conference. The "Brothers
of Italy," co-founded by Meloni in 2012, was a fringe party with
neo-fascist roots. It rebranded itself in recent years as a socially
conservative, ultra-nationalist party that's also a European voice in
the growing trans-national culture wars.

From a rooftop bar near central Rome, Ryan Lizza and POLITICO Europe's
Rome correspondent, Hannah Roberts, dig into Meloni's history, rise, and
how she's likely to lead Italy's government with EU, NATO, and Russian
relationships center stage.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Hannah Roberts is POLITICO Europe's Rome correspondent.
Afra Abdullah is associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is producer for POLITICO audio.
Brook Hayes is senior editor for POLITICO audio.
Adam Allington is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is executive producer for POLITICO audio.