An Anti-Meloni Emerges in Italy With Push to Unseat the Original

A referendum defeat for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last month is galvanizing Italy’s opposition. With their hopes of returning to power revived, a new name has emerged as a potential contender when elections are next held: Silvia Salis.

The 40-year old political novice doesn’t sit in Parliament in Rome, but rather in Genoa’s 16th century Palazzo Doria Tursi, where she serves as the city’s mayor. For now, the former Olympic hammer thrower is betting that countering Meloni’s culture-war script while she carves out a national profile is enough to make her a credible challenger.