First woman PM takes over Italy
Giorgia Meloni and wary European Union chiefs try to start a good working relationship
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Daily TribuneGiorgia Meloni and wary European Union chiefs try to start a good working relationship
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ROME, Italy (AFP) — Giorgia Meloni formally takes over as Italy's first woman prime minister on Sunday, a day after being sworn in as the leader of the country's most right-wing government since World War II.
The handover of power from outgoing premier Mario Draghi to Meloni will take place at Rome's Chigi Palace and a first cabinet meeting will follow shortly afterwards.
The symbolic act at the seat of Italy's government will see former European Central Bank chief Draghi, in charge since February 2021, hand over a bell used by the cabinet president to manage cabinet debates.
European Union chiefs, wary of the far-right taking power, on Saturday said they were ready to cooperate with the new coalition government led by Meloni's post-fascist and Eurosceptic Brothers of Italy party.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Meloni and said she held "good" telephone talks with her, while Meloni said she was ready to work with the bloc's leaders.
La Stampa daily spoke of a "European beginning" on its front page on Sunday. "Meloni: down to work, with pride," blared the Corriere della Sera.
Challenges ahead
On Saturday, Meloni and her 24 ministers took the oath before President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, once home to popes and kings of Italy.
The 45-year-old's appointment is a historic event for the eurozone's third-largest economy and for Brothers of Italy, which has never been in government.
It won 26 percent of the vote in last month's election, compared to eight and nine percent respectively for Meloni's coalition partners, former leader Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the far-right League led by Matteo Salvini.
A former admirer of former dictator Benito Mussolini, Meloni has managed to distance her party from its fascist roots.
Major challenges including soaring inflation and Italy's high debt ratio — the eurozone's highest after Greece — await the new government.
