The article analyzes conceptual metaphors with the target domain “Giorgia Meloni” in the pre-election political media discourse of Italy. The research aims to identify the most frequent metaphorical models representing Giorgia Meloni in the Italian national media and to illustrate the peculiarities of their functioning in discourse. The research method is based on the cognitive-discursive approach, according to which metaphor is defined as the leading method of conceptualizing and explaining reality with a significant pragmatic effect. The practical research material includes articles from the most popular national Italian periodicals for July-September 2022. The analysis comprises about 300 metaphorical units. The analysis has revealed the highest frequency of the metaphors belonging to the source domains «War», «Sport», «Animals», «Anatomy and physiology of the human body», and «Theatre». Based on the data obtained, the authors argue that the metaphors produce both positive and negative images of Meloni: metaphors with positive evaluation represent Meloni as a reliable and responsible candidate who is faithful to her principles, while negatively charged metaphors indicate her insincerity and unstable position in the political arena. The findings can contribute to the study of speech manipulation and the theory of metaphorical modeling.