Rights Giorgia Meloni sworn in as Italy’s new head of government This Iranian woman felt the power of the moral police firsthand

Giorgia Meloni is the first woman in Italy’s history to be sworn in as Prime Minister. The party leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia took the oath on Saturday morning in the presence of head of state Sergio Mattarella. The men and women of her cabinet were also sworn in at the Quirinale Palace in Rome. In the future, Italy will be governed by a right-wing government composed of the Fratelli, the conservative Forza Italia led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the right-wing populist Lega led by Matteo Salvini.

A transfer is planned between the new Prime Minister Meloni and her predecessor Mario Draghi in the Palazzo Chigi on Sunday, and the Council of Ministers will also meet for the first time. The 45-year-old Roman woman’s cabinet will then need confirmation through a confidence vote in the two chambers of parliament, which observers say could happen early next week. The right-wing alliance has had an absolute majority in parliament since the September 25 elections, so voting for the new government should not be a major hurdle.

In the parliamentary elections in September, Meloni and her Fratelli emerged as the clear winner with 26 percent of the vote. The far right with fascist roots was previously only a small opposition party in parliament. Under the new right-wing government, Italy’s stance on migration is likely to become more hostile. The alliance also stressed that it wanted to do more for Italy’s interests. Meloni’s position on the EU has already worried Europe. She recently stated that Italy will remain a full part of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance.

Recently, Meloni was apparently in a hurry: Friday morning the legal alliance was invited to the government meeting in Mattarella. A few hours later, Meloni came to him again, presented a cabinet draft and accepted the mandate to form a government. In the days before that, the parties in their alliance had argued over the occupation of several ministries. This was also overshadowed by pro-Putin statements by 86-year-old Berlusconi.

In the new cabinet, the Fratelli have the most ministers, with nine posts. Lega and Forza Italia each got five. Foreign Minister and Meloni’s deputy will be EU politician Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia). Lega boss Salvini is also Deputy Prime Minister and had to settle for the Ministry of Infrastructure. First, he claimed the Interior Ministry, which he led in 2018 in the Conte government, had a strict anti-migration policy. The interior minister is now the prefect of Rome, Matteo Piantedosi – one of the five independent experts in the cabinet.

The hard-fought post at the Justice Department went to Fratelli and ex-prosecutor Carlo Nordio. Berlusconi had struggled for a long time to get his confidant Maria Elisabetta Casellati there. She is now Minister of Reform. Lega politician Giancarlo Giorgetti takes over the important Ministry of Finance. Guido Crosetto, co-founder of Fratelli, who was previously criticized for potential conflicts of interest as an entrepreneur in the defense industry, will become defense minister. On Friday, he stated that he had already left the management position at every private company. (sda/dpa)