The populist far right paradox: the identification of the enemy and its exceptions in the immigration policies of the Meloni government in Italy

Abstract Opposition against refugees and migrants is a central topic of the populist far-right’s political agenda. In Italy, the populist far-right has come to lead the national government with the Meloni government. In this scenario, this article identifies what can be defined as the “populist far right paradox”: how to maintain the electoral commitment of rigid closure towards immigrants and refugees, in the presence of interests and pressures that instead require openness. This general question generates three sub-questions. First of all, in which ways, once in government, does the populist far-right try to keep its promises to block immigration? Secondly, how do they manage to navigate between different needs and pressures, which for different reasons require an openness to new entries of people from abroad? Third, how the Meloni government relates with the EU policies?