In the 2010s it described an insurgent rhetorical style; in the 2020s it is inadequate to account for the wildly diverging fates of the left and right

“Populism” may well have been the defining word of the previous decade: a shorthand for the insurgent parties that came to prominence in the 2010s, challenging the dominance of the liberal centre. But no sooner had it become the main rubric for discussing both the far left and far right than commentators began to question its validity: worrying that it was too vague, or too pejorative, or fuelling the forces to which it referred.

Now, with the fortunes of the two political poles heading in different directions – the right gaining ground across the west while much of the left struggles to rebound from serial defeats – the notion that this word could encompass such different players seems even less plausible. For a lucid account of these forces, we might have to shift our focus elsewhere: finding terms that can explain their unequal balance of power, so that we can in turn find the proper remedy.

Oliver Eagleton is managing editor at Phenomenal World

Kann man gute Beziehungen zu Maga-Amerika unterhalten und doch auf EU-Linie bleiben? Giorgia Meloni versucht es: Italien soll zumindest ein bisschen an Trumps „Friedensrat“ teilnehmen. Ihre Distanz zu Bundeskanzler Merz lässt aufhorchen.

Legislation is latest step in crackdown by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government on irregular migration

Italy’s prime minister says her government will deploy every tool at its disposal to “guarantee the security of our borders” after approving a bill authorising naval blockades to stop boats from arriving in Italy during periods of “exceptional pressure”.

The bill is the latest step in the crackdown on irregular immigration by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government, which has included tough measures against charity rescue ships, harsher jail terms for human smugglers and schemes aimed at swiftly repatriating people.

Opposition parties condemn security laws as ‘violation of the constitutional right to demonstrate’

As leader of the Milan unit of Cub, a grassroots workers’ union, Mattia Scolari joined thousands who marched on Saturday in the northern Italian city against the Winter Olympics. “Wages never grow, young people are fleeing abroad for work and there is more and more poverty. We are fed up with an Olympics that causes mayhem in the city, only brings temporary jobs and will leave lasting ecological damage,” he said.

The rally, which brought together an array of activist groups, was predominantly peaceful, marred only by a brief clash at the end when protesters on the march’s fringe threw firecrackers, smoke bombs and bottles at the police, who in turn responded with teargas, water cannons and six arrests. On the same day, rail infrastructure in northern Italy was sabotaged in a protest action subsequently claimed by anarchists.

Rastlos reist Friedrich Merz durch die Welt. Zwischen den rivalisierenden Großmächten sucht er Partner, die noch etwas von Regeln halten. Dabei ist nicht einmal klar, wie es in Europa weitergeht.

Ein Angriff auf eine Synagoge, problematische Banner bei Demonstrationen: Judenfeindliche Vorfälle häufen sich auch in Italien. Die rechte Regierung reagiert mit einem Gesetz, das viele kritisch sehen.

Abschiebezentren in Drittstaaten: Agiert die Europäische Union menschlicher bei Einwanderung und Asyl als die USA unter Trump? Eine Reise in die Zukunft der EU-Migrationspolitik.

Director of state broadcaster Rai Sport welcomed viewers to wrong stadium and mistook Italian actor for Mariah Carey

Sports journalists at the Italian state broadcaster are staging protests in response to blunders made by the sports director throughout his commentary on the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Paolo Petrecca, who was appointed to the role at Rai Sport in 2025, first welcomed viewers to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico instead of Milan’s San Siro, where Friday’s ceremony was held, before mistaking the Italian actor Matilda De Angelis for Mariah Carey and Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, for Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian president.

In der Olympiastadt Mailand kommt es zu Konfrontationen zwischen Demonstranten und der Polizei, Bahnstrecken werden sabotiert. Ministerpräsidentin Meloni spricht von „Feinden Italiens“.

Vatican appears to have ordered removal of restored work, which artist confessed he had made to resemble PM

The face of a winged angel bearing a striking resemblance to the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has been erased from a fresco in a historic Rome church, putting an end to a debacle that embarrassed the Vatican.

The image on the wall painting in a chapel of the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina in central Rome was removed overnight, leaving the cherub headless.

Cherub at landmark church causes ecclesiastical and political uproar with alleged resemblance to Italian PM

Italy’s culture minister and the diocese of Rome have launched investigations after claims were made that an angel in a landmark church in Rome was restored in the likeness of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The resemblance was first flagged by the newspaper La Repubblica, which noted that one of the two angels flanking a marble bust of Italy’s last king in the Basilica of St Lawrence in Lucina now had “a familiar, astonishingly contemporary face”.

Giorgia Meloni lächelt gerne – aber ist sie jetzt ein Engel? In der Kirche San Lorenzo in Lucina mitten in Rom kann man diesen Eindruck gewinnen.

Süditalien erlebt einen verheerenden Zyklon – und die Ministerpräsidentin schaut nur kurz im Helikopter vorbei. Der Bevölkerung gefällt das gar nicht.

Italiens Regierungschefin überrascht mit gemäßigter Außenpolitik, während strukturelle Probleme im Land ungelöst bleiben. Eine Bilanz nach drei Jahren.

Tagelang hat der Zyklon „Harry“ im Süden von Italien gewütet und mit einem Erdrutsch eine ganze Stadt zerrissen. Giorgia Meloni aber ist bis jetzt nicht mal ins Katastrophengebiet gereist. Das schürt bei vielen Wut.

Unter Auflagen kommt nach dem tödlichen Brand im Schweizer Crans-Montana der Barbetreiber frei. Italiens Regierung spricht von einem schweren Affront und bestellt den Botschafter ein. Sechs der Opfer hatten die italienische Staatsbürgerschaft.

Kanzler Merz und Italiens Ministerpräsidentin Meloni wollen in Europa vorangehen. Bei Verteidigung und Rüstung planen die Länder, enger zusammenzuarbeiten.

Der Kanzler wollte das deutsch-französische Tandem wiederbeleben, doch Frankreichs Präsident ist politisch gelähmt. Da kommen die Regierungskonsultationen in Rom gerade recht.

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Marine Le Pen among figures showing support for Hungary’s prime minister

Rightwing leaders from around the world have come together to endorse Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, hinting at the symbolism that the country’s elections hold for global far-right movements even as the populist leader lags in the polls.

A campaign video published online by Orbán this week includes endorsements from nearly a dozen leaders including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini, France’s Marine Le Pen and Germany’s Alice Weidel.