BREAKING

Italy newly elected PM Giorgia Meloni assumes office

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen English + Agencies
23 Oct 2022 17:24

Italy's first women Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni assumes office on Sunday leading the first far-right government in the country since WW2, calling for unity to face challenges.

New Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni rings the cabinet minister bell during her first cabinet meeting at Chigi Palace Premier's office, in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Elected Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to hold this position in Italy, assumed office on Sunday after a handover ceremony with former PM Mario Draghi.

Meloni gathered her cabinet immediately after the ceremony and called on her ministers to unite in order to face the challenges Italy is facing.

"We must be united, there are emergencies the country is facing. We have to work together," said the Italian PM during the cabinet meeting.

Italy elected what is considered to be the most far-right government since WW2, and comes at a time when the country is facing an energy crisis and fast-rising inflation, which hit 8.9% in September over the previous year. The challenges already elevated tensions within the new PM's government coalition, which includes the right-wing parties Forza Italia and League party.

Italy's allies, especially in the EU, were concerned after a far-right government took over the country with the third largest economy within member states.

Earlier, the consultations to form a government had been overshadowed by disagreements over Meloni's support for Ukraine with her two would-be coalition partners.

A recording was leaked recently in which Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- who heads Forza Italia -- talks about his warm ties with Russia and blames Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the war in Ukraine, while Meloni's other coalition partner, Salvini, has criticized Western sanctions on Moscow, which forced Meloni after assuming the position to publicly express support to Western sanctions and open support for Ukraine.

"I intend to lead a government with a clear and unequivocal foreign policy line," Meloni has said, stressing that "Italy is fully, and with its head held high, part of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance."

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission stated after a phone call with Meloni that the two had a "good first call" adding that she is looking forward to "constructive cooperation" with the newly elected Prime Minister.

In his turn, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that he aims to keep "working closely together with Italy in EU, NATO, and G7", which was welcomed by Meloni.

A spokesman for French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Sunday that President Macron, who is set to visit the Vatican and Rome, might be the first leader to meet the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

It's noteworthy that Meloni's coalition wants to renegotiate Italy's part of the EU's post-Covid recovery fund, arguing the almost 200 billion euros ($193 billion) it expects to receive should take into account the current energy crisis, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has hit the supplies of Russian gas to Europe, but the funds are tied to a series of reforms only just begun by Draghi.