Italy’s hard-right government is starting to look more radical

ADMIRers of Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy (FdI) party like to describe them as “Latin conservatives”—no more radical than, say, Britain’s Tories. For the most part, the Italian prime minister has indeed been reassuringly pragmatic since coming into office last year. But the comparison ignores two significant differences: a widespread hostility among the Brothers to social diversity, be it ethnic or sexual; and a deep distrust of free markets and enthusiasm for vigorous state intervention. Both differences have burst to the surface in recent weeks, prompting open splits in the governing coalition, which also includes the populist Northern League and the more liberal Forza Italia party.