Italy swears in new PM
First female prime minister brings daughter Ginevra, 10, along too
RIGHT-WING firebrand Giorgia Meloni was yesterday sworn in as Italy’s first female prime minister, heading a government drawn from a coalition of conservative parties.
Standing beneath crystal chandeliers in a sumptuous chamber of the Quirinal, Italy’s presidential palace in Rome, the 45-year-old Eurosceptic took her oath of office watched by her six-year-old daughter, Ginevra.
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party swept to victory in last month’s election following the collapse of a government of national unity led by Eurocrat Mario Draghi.
Claiming 26 per cent of the vote, she is the head of a Right-wing coalition government that includes Forza Italia, led by ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigration League.
After days of fraught negotiations, Ms Meloni announced her cabinet late on Friday, pledging to be faithful to Italy’s post-war republic and to act ‘in the
Giorgia Meloni will act ‘in the exclusive interests of the nation’
exclusive interests of the nation’.
The sharp-tongued native of Rome, whose partner is TV journalist Andrea Giambruno, had appealed to voters with tough rhetoric on immigration, woke ideology and the LGBT lobby. Her opponents have labelled her a fascist, but Ms Meloni claims her party is similar to the British Conservative Party.
Her policy pledges include large tax cuts and a tough approach to immigration, particularly targeting traffickers’ boats from Libya.
Her premiership caps a remarkable rise for the Brothers of Italy, cofounded
by Ms Meloni in 2012.
It follows a recent political trend across Europe, with Sweden electing a Right-wing coalition after decades of Left-leaning parties in control and a huge upturn in support
for French far-Right leader Marine Le Pen.
Ms Meloni, who also advocates a return to family values, was due to hold her first cabinet meeting today.
IS ROBBIE WILLIAMS going to be making bikinis soon? We only ask because the 48-year-old singer, right, has applied for a trademark of his initials R.W. for not only bags and bath toys but also bikinis and swimming costumes. This isn’t the first time Robbie has ventured into the world of fashion: in 2011 he announced he was working with UK Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones to launch a menswear line called Farrell. Sadly, Farrell closed its shop after six weeks and filed for bankruptcy in 2013. Fingers crossed Robbie has more luck with the beachwear.