After offering a clear victory to the right-wing coalition of which she leads the most powerful component, after having tamed her majority despite weeks of tension, Giorgia Meloni, 45, rose to the head of the Italian government on Friday 21 october. She becomes the first woman to hold this position in the country’s history. Following a meeting with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who had called her in the morning to form her government, the far-right leader delivered the list of her ministers, the result of intense negotiations and by moments of conflict with his allies.
His party, Fratelli d’Italia, which rose from 4% of the votes cast in the 2018 legislative elections to 26% in the ballot on September 25, comes from the post-fascist movement, in which Giorgia Meloni is committed to 15 years old. While she has built her entire political life there by associating her name with a radical commitment to identity themes, she now sees herself as the figurehead of a conservative right of government. The composition of the new executive reflects both a desire to maintain balance within the Italian right and the concern to assure Rome’s partners a promise of institutional normality, as well as a certain continuity with European and transatlantic commitments. associated with the person of the outgoing Prime Minister, Mario Draghi.
It was in Brussels that the latter began the last day of his mandate. In February 2021, Mr. Draghi took over the head of a government of national unity with a strong technocratic tint to respond to the crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Fratelli d’Italia represented its sole opposition until its fall in July.
Back from a European Council dominated by the energy crisis, the outgoing chairman of the board will hand over the baton to Mme Meloni. The new government will have to deal as a priority with the economic emergencies linked to the war in Ukraine. “Draghi and Meloni had an excellent relationship when she was in opposition. They now share the same vision on major international and European issues,” affirms the senator (Fratelli d’Italia) Giovanbattista Fazzolari, who belongs to the close circle of the new president of the council.
A necessary trust with Brussels
“The Meloni government lacks a powerful technical component, but the profiles of ministers appointed to key positions are meant to reassure the markets and outside observers,” notes Lorenzo Condogno, visiting professor at the London School of Economics and former Director General of the Italian Treasury. Remaining from one executive to another, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economic Development under Mr Draghi, must therefore take the post of Minister of Economy and Finance. Experienced politician in the economic field without being a technocrat, he is identified with the pro-European tendency of the League, coalition partner of Giorgia Meloni with Forza Italia, of Silvio Berlusconi.
You have 70.41% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.