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Italy's first female prime minister Giorgia Meloni sworn in

Sunday, 23 October 2022 2:14 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 23 October 2022 4:54 AM ]

Max Civili

Press TV, Rome

On Saturday, 45-year-old Giorgia Meloni took an oath as Italy's prime minister before President Sergio Mattarella.

Meloni - the country's first woman to become premier - is one of the founders and the current leadership of the far-right-leaning party, Brothers of Italy. It is the political force that spearheaded a right-wing coalition to victory in last month's general elections.

Besides bringing some political stability to Italy, which has seen 68 governments in its 74 years of history as a republic, Meloni will have to face a series of daunting challenges, including a looming recession, protecting Italians from surging energy bills and reassuring the establishment of new government around her Atlanticist and anti-Putin alignment.

Italy's new prime minister Giorgia Meloni says her government will follow the line of NATO and the Western alliance on the Ukraine war. Also, the new foreign minister, former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, has repeatedly said he will be fully supportive of Kiev.

However, Meloni's two main allies, media magnate Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini, are long-time admirers of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier this week a video portraying Berlusconi saying that Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky should be held accountable for the conflict in Ukraine caused a stir in the political arena.

Italians are hoping the new government will work for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. Meloni is expected to lay out her political priorities next week, when she faces confidence vote at the parliament that will confirm, or not, that she holds a majority.

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