Italy: Giorgia Meloni appointed Prime Minister, the far right in power – FRANCE 24

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has been tasked by Italian President Sergio Mattarella with forming the new government, a presidency official said on Friday. She takes the reins of the Italian government at a particularly difficult time, with inflation and global uncertainty weighing heavily on the peninsula’s already debt-ridden economy. Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist party Fratelli d’Italia, winner of the last legislative elections, was asked on Friday 21 October to form a government by President Sergio Mattarella, announced the secretary general of the presidency. Aged 45, she accepted this responsibility, becoming the first woman called to this function in the history of the country. Geogia Meloni presented in the wake of his appointment the composition of his government, which will take the oath on Saturday morning at 08:00 GMT under the golds of the Quirinal Palace before the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. The list of ministers reflects his desire to reassure Rome’s partners. Former President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, a member of Forza Italia, is appointed to Foreign Affairs, and Giancarlo Giorgetti, a representative of the moderate wing of the League already a minister in the outgoing government of Mario Draghi, takes the crucial portfolio of Economy. La Romaine, who managed to “de-demonize” her party to come to power exactly a century after Mussolini, has with her coalition partners, the populist leader of the Anti-Migrant League Matteo Salvini, the declining leader of Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi, of the absolute majority both in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate.>> To read also: How Giorgia Meloni conquered the Italian right… and the countrySalvini in Infrastructure, a pro-European in diplomacyPatron of the League anti-immigration, Matteo Salvini returns to the post of Deputy Prime Minister that he had already occupied after the 2018 elections, when his party had formed a government with the populist ecologists of the 5-Star Movement. At the time, he also held the Interior portfolio, and he coveted it again this time, but Giorgia Meloni, strong with her 26% while the League only won 9% of the vote, vetoed. He nevertheless inherited the Ministry of Infrastructure, which notably has the upper hand over the country’s ports. A key position for the man who, inside, had blocked several NGO ships rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean under the League’s “closed ports” policy. He is still being prosecuted in this capacity before a Sicilian court for kidnapping and abuse of power. In diplomacy, the choice of Antonio Tajani, pro-European, may seem surprising in this government with a strongly Eurosceptic color. But he is close to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the right-wing Forza Italia party, partner minority of Giorgia Meloni’s coalition, which obtained 8% of the vote in the elections. good relations with Brussels. Speaking French, English and Spanish, he replaced Silvio Berlusconi, 86, in failing health, during the electoral campaign. Like Matteo Salvini, Antonio Tajani is also appointed Deputy Prime Minister. A pro-Draghi in the economyGiancarlo Giorgetti, a powerful figure in the League described as the moderate and pro-European face of the party, will take over the reins of the Ministry of the Economy. s of Matteo Salvini, he was a loyal supporter of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi until the end, for whom he was Minister of Economic Development. The Interior portfolio of this nationalist government, for which security and immigration issues are strategic, goes to Matteo Piantedosi, 59, prefect of Rome since 2020. The latter has spent his entire career in the prefectural and the senior civil service, largely in the Interior Ministry, where he was chief of staff to Matteo Salvini. A collector of fascist memorabilia, and a pro-Putin ultra-Catholic The Senate, the upper house of parliament, elected to President Ignazio La Russa, co-founder of Fratelli d’Italia with Giorgia Meloni. who gave his son the middle name of the dictator, Benito. Minister of Defense in Berlusconi’s last government, he is known for collecting fascist memorabilia. The lower house of the Italian parliament has also chosen to preside over a colorful and no less controversial figure: Lorenzo Fontana, a close ally of Salvini, with ultra-conservative positions on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. This devout Catholic, whose Facebook page is dotted with portraits of saints, denounced in 2014 the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow following the annexation of Crimea, and called the Russia of President Vladimir Putin a “model society”. “.Lorenzo Fontana has also risen against the “invasion” of immigrants in Italy and in 2016 expressed his support for the neo-Nazi Greek party Golden Dawn. her neighbours, a difficult economic situation due to the energy crisis and inflation, the task of the new Prime Minister promises to be difficult, especially since she will have to ensure the unity of her coalition. makes the screen ho of the multiple passes of arms between the three leaders on the distribution of positions in Parliament and within the future government. Giorgia Meloni herself an Atlanticist and favorable to support for Ukraine against Russia, had to face this week Polemical remarks by Silvio Berlusconi, who claimed to have “reconnected” with Vladimir Putin and blamed kyiv for the war. chancelleries. Giorgia Meloni felt obliged to correct the situation on Wednesday by saying that Italy is “fully part and with its head held high” of Europe and NATO. Stuck between the hammer of its “allies” and the anvil of Brussels and the markets, Giorgia Meloni already seems on the razor’s edge, almost a tradition in a country known for its chronic governmental instability. With AFP