Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has set a historic record with her right-wing government, which as of Friday has been in office longer without interruption than any other since the founding of the Italian Republic in 1946.
The 49-year-old has surpassed the previous record held by Silvio Berlusconi's second government, which was in office from 2001 to 2005.
Meloni, who also leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has now been prime minister for 1,413 days. She was sworn in on October 22, 2022, as the first woman to lead an Italian government.
Berlusconi's second Cabinet lasted 1,412 days.
Italy has been marked by frequent changes of government and political instability over the past decades. Since the republic was founded 80 years ago, the country has had 68 governments, which lasted an average of only around 13 months.
Meloni's coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties has been in power for almost four years.
The record applies only to the uninterrupted term of a single Cabinet. If several governments led by the same prime minister are counted together, Berlusconi remains ahead with more than nine years in office. Meloni currently ranks seventh by that measure.
Meloni has presented the longevity of her government as a major success. Her party is planning a rally in the southern port city of Bari on Friday evening to celebrate the milestone, where Meloni is also due to speak.
Critics accuse her of turning the government's longevity into an end in itself and complain of political stagnation.
