Can Nigel Farage emulate success enjoyed by Italy’s far-right Giorgia Meloni?

Reform's leader may hope to tread a similar path to Italy's prime minister, but she is an experienced parliamentarian open to collaboration and compromise

One of the more striking images from June's G7 summit showed a small group of world leaders engaged in an impromptu and informal evening chat at the venue's restaurant. In the foreground of that photo was a familiar blond head: Giorgia Meloni.

During her three years as the Italian prime minister, Meloni has moved beyond her hard-right populism, not to mention her fascism-adjacent origins, to earn at least the respect of other leaders - Keir Starmer among them - for her pragmatism and flexibility. Among those watching this transformation from the sidelines will be the man hoping to be Starmer's replacement: Nigel Farage.