Italy's PM rose to power as a far-right outsider. Now, she faces a challenger

0:00Italy's first female prime minister, Georgie Malone, just set a new record by leading the longest-lasting government in Italy's history. Years ago, she rose to power as a far-right challenger. Now Malone faces a new opponent, an outsider who is even further right. Meghan Williams reports from Rome. That's Roberto Vanacci, a former army general in military attaché in Moscow. Last month, warning that if Italy's prime minister, Georgie Malone, is ready to lose the election, he says, I'm ready to win it. Vanacci is leading a new hard-right nationalist party called Futuro National, National Future. He's called gay people not normal. This party says abortion is not a right. And he wants Italy's same-sex civil union scrapped. His message to right-wing voters is essentially, Malone isn't conservative enough. So, Malone is now having what she feared the most, that is, an opposition from the right,

1:02which can basically speak the language of her electorate. Polster Lorenzo Preliasco. And the challenge comes just as Malone marks a remarkable milestone. On Friday, her government reached 1,413 consecutive days, overtaking Sylvio Baviconi's second government as the longest lasting in the history of the Italian Republic. In a country that's burned through 68 governments, since World War II, that's no small feat, especially for a politician who came to power sounding like this. I am Georgia. I am a woman. I'm a mother. I'm Italian. I'm Christian. I am Georgia. I'm a woman. I'm a mother. I'm Italian. I'm Christian. Arant is so catchy, it became a dance remix. I'm Georgia. I'm Georgia. I'm a woman. I'm a mother. But in office, combativeness gave way to caution. After years of railing against the European Union, Malone kept Italy firmly inside its massive

2:08post-COVID recovery program, respected EU fiscal rules, and dropped talk of challenging the Europe. Unlike her coalition partner Mateo Salvini, Malone is back to Ukraine. Economist Veronika De Romane says Malone has steered clear of bigger reforms, but that caution has come at a cost to the country. Once you try to change the budget, that means losing political consensus, losing those. So Malone largely hasn't. Her government has brought down the deficit, but growth is stuck around half a percent. And despite Italy's world-class companies and technology, overall productivity is weak. It's dead among Europe's highest. Youth unemployment is soaring. With half of women here outside the workforce. We are again one of the country within the European Union that is growing the list. That stagnation gives newcomer Vanacci another opening.

3:08As lies are the votes that she received, which were protest votes. Borders that thought that finally somebody would introduce radical measures to solve what they think are the problems of the country remained disappointed. And this is exactly the public to which Vanacci tries to pick. Four years ago, Malone could campaign as an outsider, blaming the parties that had govern before her. Next year, she'll have to own the record. Vanacci won't, and can make a pitch that Italian voters have repeatedly bought before. I'm new. Try me. Malone's party is strong, but not strong enough to govern alone. Malone doesn't have an absolute majority. She needs partners to rule the country. So Vanacci may be needed in order to build a coalition. Especially if the divided center-left opposition pulls together. So the men attacking Malone hard from her right could also be the very men she needs to

4:11stay in power. For NPR News, I'm Megan Williams in Rome.