Far-right PM takes charge in Italy
Giorgia Meloni, who leads a political party with neo-fascist roots, was yesterday sworn in as Italy’s first far-right premier since the end of the Second World War.
Meloni, who is also the first woman to lead the country, recited the oath of office before President Sergio Mattarella, who formally asked her to form a government a day earlier.
Her Brothers of Italy party, which she co-founded in 2012, will rule in coalition with the right-wing League of Matteo Salvini and the conservative Forza Italia party headed by former premier Silvio Berlusconi. The two parties’ popularity has sagged with voters in recent years. Meloni, 45, pledged to be faithful to Italy’s post-war republic and to act “in the exclusive interests of the nation”.
In her campaign for the September 25 election, Meloni insisted national interests prevail over European Union policies should there be conflict.
One immediate challenge will be ensuring that her country stays aligned with other major nations in the West supporting Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Last week, she gave an ultimatum to Berlusconi, over his professed sympathy for Vladimir Putin.
Berlusconi, in remarks to his Forza Italia party legislators, seemed to justify the invasion in February to install what he called a “decent” government in the Ukrainian capital.
Meloni said: “Italy with us in government will never be the weak link of the West”, before choosing as foreign minister a longtime Berlusconi stalwart with solid pro-Europe credentials.