Putin pleased as Italy set for far-right PM
Single mum Meloni, 45, will be first female to lead country
ITALY was last night set to have its first female prime minister after the far-right claimed victory in the country’s elections – a result that was praised by Russia.
The conservative coalition of Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni – which includes former PM Silvio Berlusconi – picked up just over 44% of the vote.
But the process of asking her to form Italy’s most right-wing government since Mussolini’s in the Second World War, is not expected to be completed for at least another month. The 45-year-old’s win in Sunday’s poll marks the latest success for Europe’s populist, anti-immigration parties.
The blunt-speaking single mother from Rome appealed to voters with tough rhetoric on Islam, ‘woke ideology’ and the ‘LGBT lobby’. She also promised to use the Italian navy to stop migrants getting into the country.
Ms Meloni said yesterday: ‘If we are called on to govern this nation, we will do it for all the Italians, with the aim of uniting the people...’
She will be joined by former deputy PM Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party and Mr Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia.
Mr Berlusconi, 85, returns to the senate nearly a decade after being expelled for a series of scandals. He caused uproar last week when he said Vladmir Putin merely wanted to oust Ukraine’s Volodymyr
Zelensky and replace him with ‘decent people’.
Mr Salvini has also faced scrutiny over his links to the Kremlin. He once said Putin was ‘one of the best statesmen currently on Earth’ and opposes sending more weapons to Ukraine.
That has led to questions over whether Ms Meloni will continue current PM Mario Draghi’s policy of supporting Ukraine. She backed Moscow’s occupation of Crimea in 2014 and has been a critic of the EU’s use of economic punishment against Russia. However, she recently tried to position herself as a supporter of Ukraine, leading some Italian officials to suggest the move was ‘opportunistic’.
Putin’s spokesman, Dimitry Peskov, hailed Ms Meloni’s victory, saying: ‘We are ready to welcome any political forces that are able to go beyond the
‘Aim of uniting the people’ ‘Take its destiny in hand’
established mainstream, which is filled with hate for our country and show willingness to be constructive.’
Marine Le Pen, former president of France’s far-right National Rally party, said: ‘The Italian people has decided to take its destiny in hand by electing a patriotic... government.’ Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki praised Ms Meloni’s ‘great victory’.