Meloni to mark 1,413 days in power on 4 September, overtaking Berlusconi's second government to become the longest continually serving prime minister since Italy became a republic 80 years ago.Giorgia Meloni's government will become the longest-serving in the history of the Italian Republic on Friday, when it reaches 1,413 days in office, surpassing Silvio Berlusconi's second government, which ran from June 2001 to April 2005.Meloni took office on 22 October 2022 as Italy's first woman prime minister, leading a right-wing coalition of her Fratelli d'Italia party alongside Matteo Salvini's Lega and Antonio Tajani's Forza Italia. Along the way her government has already overtaken those of Matteo Renzi, Bettino Craxi's first executive and Berlusconi's fourth government to become the second longest-serving in the 80-year history of the Republic, a milestone reached in May. Her party is marking the record with a national rally at the southern port city of Bari on 4 September, under the slogan "the most stable government, the strongest Italy: four years of commitment to the nation". Deputy premiers Tajani and Salvini are set to speak (probably via videolink) alongside Meloni, with thousands of party supporters expected from across the country. Stability as a political message Since 1946 Italy has had 68 governments, with the average administration lasting under 18 months, undone by coalition collapses, confidence votes and internal splits. Meloni has repeatedly framed her government's durability itself as a political achievement, arguing it has delivered Italy something rare: sustained stability. That message underpins two of her flagship, still unfinished reform projects: the premierato, a constitutional change to introduce a directly elected prime minister, and a new electoral law known as the stabilicum. Government sources point to falling borrowing costs and the deficit-to-GDP ratio cut from eight per cent to just over three per cent, as tangible results of that stability. Meloni also cites record employment levels and points to reduced Mediterranean crossings as key achievements. A turbulent path The path to the record has not been without upheaval. The government's first decree, issued within days of taking office, targeted illegal raves and tightened rules on organised crime, foreshadowing a series of security measures that drew criticism from the opposition, as did the scrapping of the reddito di cittadinanza income support scheme and the abuse of office offence. In March, the government faced a major debacle when the defeat of a constitutional referendum on justice reform produced several days of internal discussion at the highest levels of the executive about the possibility of calling early elections. Meloni chose to regroup rather than gamble. Tourism minister Daniela Santanchè resigned, as did justice undersecetary Andrea Delmastro and Giusi Bartolozzi, head of cabinet to justice minister Carlo Nordio. In 2024 former culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano resigned following a scandal, while Raffaele Fitto left for Brussels to take up his role as vice-peresident of the EU Commission for Cohesion and Reforms. Tensions and criticism There have been also tensions with Israel's government over the war in Gaza, which has fuelled pro-Palestinian protests across Italy, along with repeated friction with the judiciary, notably over the Almasri affair, and, more recently, in Meloni's evolving relationship with US president Donald Trump, strained after Italy declined to back American strikes on Iran. Ahead of Friday's milestone, Tito Boeri, an economist at Milan's Bocconi University, claimed that Meloni's government has "primarily sought to survive" by "doing as little as possible". As the country prepares for elections in 2027, the prime minister also faces a growing threat from former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose far-right Futuro Nazionale recently overtook Forza Italia to become the fourth most popular political party in Italy. Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com

Giorgia Meloni's government will become the longest-serving in the history of the Italian Republic on Friday, when it reaches 1,413 days in office, surpassing Silvio Berlusconi's second government, which ran from June 2001 to April 2005. Meloni took office on 22 October 2022 as Italy's first woman prime minister, leading a right-wing coalition of her Fratelli d'Italia party alongside Matteo Salvini's Lega and Antonio Tajani's Forza Italia. Along the way her government has already overtaken those of Matteo Renzi, Bettino Craxi's first executive and Berlusconi's fourth government to become the second longest-serving in the , a milestone reached in May. Her party is marking the record with a national rally at the southern port city of Bari on 4 September, under the slogan "the most stable government, the strongest Italy: four years of commitment to the nation". Deputy premiers Tajani and Salvini are set to speak (probably via videolink) alongside Meloni, with thousands of party supporters expected from across the country. Since 1946 Italy has had 68 governments, with the average administration lasting under 18 months, undone by coalition collapses, confidence votes and internal splits. Meloni has repeatedly framed her government's durability itself as a political achievement, arguing it has delivered Italy something rare: sustained stability. That message underpins two of her flagship, still unfinished reform projects: the premierato, a constitutional change to introduce a directly elected prime minister, and a new electoral law known as the stabilicum. Government sources point to falling borrowing costs and the deficit-to-GDP ratio cut from eight per cent to just over three per cent, as tangible results of that stability. Meloni also cites record employment levels and points to reduced Mediterranean crossings as key achievements. The path to the record has not been without upheaval. The government's first decree, issued within days of taking office, targeted illegal raves and tightened rules on organised crime, foreshadowing a series of security measures that drew criticism from the opposition, as did the scrapping of the reddito di cittadinanza income support scheme and the abuse of office offence. In March, the government faced a major debacle when the defeat of a  produced several days of internal discussion at the highest levels of the executive about the possibility of calling early elections. Meloni chose to regroup rather than gamble. Tourism minister , as did justice undersecetary , head of cabinet to justice minister Carlo Nordio. In 2024 former culture minister  resigned following a scandal, while Raffaele Fitto left for Brussels to take up his role as vice-peresident of the EU Commission for Cohesion and Reforms. There have been also tensions with Israel's government over the war in Gaza, which has fuelled pro-Palestinian protests across Italy, along with repeated friction with the judiciary, notably over the , and, more recently, in Meloni's evolving relationship with US president Donald Trump, strained after Italy declined to back American strikes on Iran. Ahead of Friday's milestone, Tito Boeri, an economist at Milan's Bocconi University, claimed that Meloni's government has "primarily sought to survive" by "doing as little as possible". As the country prepares for elections in 2027, the prime minister also faces a growing threat from former army general Roberto Vannacci, whose far-right recently overtook Forza Italia to become the fourth most popular political party in Italy. Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com