ld leaders falling at her feet and the Trump administration in her thrall. But how did she reinvent herself from leader of a minor neo-fascist party to the new political queen of Europe?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Tom Kington, The Times correspondent in Rome.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Edith Rousselot.

Further reading:

Stop flirting with Giorgia Meloni! She’s a serious leader

Clips: AFP, Atlantic Council, AP News, EU Debates, PBS NewsHour, The Express Tribune.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1d:T456,The US government has been shut down for more than a week, and Democrats and Republicans are locked in a political blame game. Shutdowns are nothing new in US politics, but this time President Trump has made an unusual threat: to permanently cut hundreds of thousands of jobs and shutter entire government agencies. Is this just a new bargaining tactic to put pressure on Democrats or part of a bigger project to remake the American government? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Lara Spirit, Washington Correspondent, The Times.Host:

How Giorgia Meloni became Europe’s polit...