In a month’s time Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy is likely to become the first female prime minister of Italy, already prompting fears for abortion rights due to her party’s “post-fascist” reputation. Meanwhile, the gay Israeli MP Amir Ohana, once one of Binyamin Netanyahu’s staunchest allies, has performed well in the primary vote to select his right-wing party’s candidates for the country’s general election in November; Ohana, a former justice minister, is seen as a likely future leader of Likud and prime minister.
These developments are part of a broader trend whereby women and LGBT people have become more prominent among national-populist political parties. At present more than half a dozen right-wing populist parties in Europe are led by women, from Alice Weidel of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National. Significantly, these women usually do not reinforce traditional gender roles: Le Pen is twice divorced; Nicole Höchst of the AfD is a single mother of four; and Weidel is a lesbian, raising two children with her partner.
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