A video of the candidate runs in a loop on a screen next to the stage. Smiling nonstop and shaking hands, Giorgia Meloni’s voice booms over the Piazza del Carmine as it fills with people. They have come to Cagliari, Sardinia’s largest city, to hear the politician with the best chance of becoming Italy’s next prime minister and the first woman to hold the post. Polls ahead of the September 25 general election have shown her as the favorite for the role.
