“Italy has five years of political stability ahead of it,” said Lega Nord boss Matteo Salvini after the far-right election victory a few weeks ago. But the government has not yet been formed and his coalition partners are already fighting. Allegations between Forza Italia’s Silvio Berlusconi and future Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have been flying back and forth.

Today the formation process officially begins: the President meets the Presidents of both houses, after which Meloni is tasked with forming a government. But it’s not easy for her.

letter full of allegations

The feud between Berlusconi and Meloni began last week when photographers in the Senate zoomed in on a note in which Berlusconi listed what he thought of Meloni. “She’s haughty, bossy, arrogant and abusive.” The word “ridiculous” was originally there but had it crossed out.

His resentment had to do with the list of ministers that Meloni is working on behind the scenes. She turned down a ministerial post for Licia Ronzulli, a Forza Italia politician who had helped organize Berlusconi years earlier bunga bungaparties. “Berlusconi forgot one thing on his note,” Meloni replied spitefully. “That I can’t be blackmailed.”

The tensions between the two are striking given that Meloni took over her post as prime minister years ago when Berlusconi was prime minister. Now that Meloni’s party was by far the strongest in the elections, the balance of power is reversed. But they need each other to form a majority.

As in Italian politics, therefore, the uprising was settled as quickly as it arose. Meloni even asked Berlusconi “to give him some advice,” the 86-year-old senator boasted after the conversation in which the two made peace. They smiled again for the cameras.

Berlusconi posted a photo of it on Twitter.

However, this peace did not last long. Audio clips have leaked in recent days in which Berlusconi praises Russian leader Putin and condones the invasion of Ukraine.

A sweet letter from Putin

In the first fragment, in which Berlusconi addresses his faction members in the Senate, he says he has strengthened ties with the Russian President. “For my birthday he sent me twenty bottles of vodka and a very sweet letter. I replied back with bottles of Lambrusco and a sweet letter.”

In the second fragment, recorded yesterday by a fellow party member, Berlusconi explains why he thinks Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin is said to have come to the aid of the two “independent republics” in Donbass only after they had been attacked by Zelenskyy’s government.

“He decided to launch a special operation (…) to overthrow the incumbent government and form a government (…) of good and reasonable people,” Berlusconi said. “After a week he wanted to leave. He encountered unexpected resistance from the Ukrainians, who received money and weapons from the West on the third day.”

Furthermore, Berlusconi says he doesn’t understand why Putin and Zelenskyy aren’t negotiating with each other. “I think Zelensky is (…) late, I can’t say that.”

Trouble for Meloni

Unlike the relatively harmless bickering over Berlusconi’s note, Meloni’s comments about Ukraine are causing a lot of trouble. The far-right politician has always emphasized that with her at the helm, Italy would pursue a pro-NATO course and that support for Ukraine is undisputed. International allies might wonder to what extent that is true when one of their coalition partners clearly disagrees.

That’s why she put a limit on Berlusconi’s behavior in a press release last night. “I intend to lead a government with a clear and unambiguous foreign policy. Italy, raised its head, is a full member of Europe and NATO. Anyone who does not agree to this cannot become part of the government. Even if it comes at the expense of forming a government.”

Sworn in this month

It is unlikely that the formation of a right-wing government will really be endangered. After the first round of deliberations today, Mattarella invited Meloni, Berlusconi and Salvini together tomorrow. Berlusconi is expected to relent and get them out anyway, although the post at the Foreign Office may not be entrusted to his party.

If all goes according to plan, the new government could be sworn in as early as this month. But the illusion that Italy has “five years of political stability in prospect” with this government, as Matteo Salvini prophesied, has already been shattered.