Giorgia Meloni announces school integration decree and defends budget at Fenix rally

Address at the Fenix youth rally

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni closed the five-day Fenix festival at the Laghetto dell'Eur in Rome on 20 September 2026. The annual gathering was organized by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth movement of her ruling Fratelli d'Italia party, alongside student wings Azione Universitaria and Azione Studentesca. Arriving at midday following remarks by youth president Fabio Roscani and the mother of a Crans-Montana disaster victim, Meloni delivered an address lasting just under 40 minutes. She thanked the assembled delegates for their participation and framed the rally as a testament to ideological continuity.

“And so I want to tell you today as always, but today perhaps more, perhaps every day more, that I am immensely proud of you.”

Proposed education and integration decrees

During the speech, Meloni announced a forthcoming decree to be introduced in the Council of Ministers regarding the national education system. The planned measure establishes a statutory cap on the number of foreign students permitted per classroom and introduces mandatory Italian language courses for foreign parents whose children face severe school integration difficulties. The legislation also includes a formal prohibition on burqas and niqabs within schools. Meloni argued that Italian pupils should never become an isolated minority in domestic classrooms, contending that cultural and linguistic adaptation represents the sole viable model of integration. General Roberto Vannacci, speaking from a separate event in Orvieto organized by Futuro Nazionale, endorsed the classroom measures while asserting that such reforms should have occurred much earlier.

Disputes over university funding and public spending

Meloni directed sharp criticism toward the parliamentary opposition, focusing specifically on Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein and Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte. She rejected allegations of university spending cuts, stating that the Ordinary Financing Fund stands at 9.4 billion euros, an increase of 25% compared to 2019 levels. Meloni also defended the elimination of the vehicle ownership tax for 14 million motorists, mocking opposition complaints over the tax relief and dismissing claims that regional budgets would absorb the lost revenue. She turned to public finances, blaming Conte for 200 billion euros in accumulated state liabilities generated by the Superbonus home renovation scheme.

“Now I want to ask, dear Elly, dearest, is it possible that you cannot find a single real argument to challenge us? Just one true thing, say it, please, I will pass it to you under the table.”

Opposition demands and party heritage

Later in the day, Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein addressed attendees at the Open festival in Parma, demanding that the government clarify the parliamentary election timetable.

“It is Giorgia Meloni who must finally tell Italy when this country will return to vote. And if you ask me, the sooner, the better, given the failures this government is producing.”

The Fenix festival also featured historical retrospectives, including a dedicated panel led by Senator Isabella Rauti to commemorate the centenary of the birth of her father, Pino Rauti, and mark 80 years since the founding of the Italian Social Movement.