From opposition to government: the evolution of the right-wing discourse of "Brothers of Italy"

Abstract

The article traces the main stages of evolution of the discourse of the Italian far-right party Brothers of Italy, which triumphantly performed in the last parliamentary elections and, together with allies, formed the most right-wing cabinet of ministers in Italy in the last 75 years. Since the goal was to examine the entire period of the party's existence, the material for critical discourse analysis is limited to election programs and program speeches of G. Meloni. Special attention is paid to the initial phase of political identity search and formation of the party's ideological platform. The results of the analysis show that, contrary to a common misconception, Brothers of Italy did not initially take radical positions, trying to appeal to the whole spectrum of right-wing centrist voters. The study can be useful in the context of studying the phenomenon of right-wing populism and national conservatism, as well as in conducting political expertise.