Giorgia Meloni could be hours away from becoming Italy’s first female prime minister after holding talks with President Sergio Mattarella to discuss the formation of a new government.
Far-right Meloni, who heads the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, entered the president’s palace on Friday morning alongside her main polticial allies, Matteo Salvini, who leads the far-right League, and Silvio Berlusconi, founder of the conservative Forza Italia party.
The three parties formed a successful coalition to win last month’s election.
“We are ready to give Italy a government that addresses the urgencies and challenges of our time with understanding and competence,” Meloni wrote on Facebook.
If she succeeds in forming a government, Italy would have its first far-right-led administration since the end of the Second World War. Her Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots.
Flanked by Berlusconi and Salvini, the 45-year-old said on the steps of the Quirinal Presidential Palace in Rome: “We have indicated myself as the person who should be mandated to form the new government.
“We are ready and we want to move forward in the shortest possible time.”
She could present her proposed cabinet later on Friday and, if Mattarella approves, the ministers – and the groundbreaking new PM – could be sworn into office over the weekend.
The administration faces an array of daunting challenges, including a looming recession in the eurozone’s third largest economy, rising energy bills and the Ukraine war.
The task of putting together the new team has proved much more turbulent than expected, with Berlusconi repeatedly undermining Meloni’s authority since the election.
In a note he left in public view in parliament last week, the 86-year-old Berlusconi wrote that he found Meloni “overbearing… domineering… arrogant… offensive”.
The veteran former prime minister set off a fresh scandal this week when he told colleagues that he blamed Ukraine for the war with Russia and revealed that he had exchanged gifts and “sweet letters” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
These gifts were then ruled by the European Commission as breaking sanctions put in place since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Salvini is also a long-time admirer of Putin.
Meloni has sought to reassure European capitals that Rome will continue to support the West against Moscow.
She has issued a statement saying her administration would be firmly pro-NATO and pro-European. “Anyone who does not agree with this cornerstone cannot be part of the government,” she said.
However, there are growing concerns about the role of Berlusconi being at the top table of Italian politics once again, when he is publicly backed Putin.
Berlusconi’s right-hand man in Forza Italia, Antonio Tajani, is expected to be the next foreign minister. He flew to Brussels on Thursday for talks with EU allies and assured them his party condemned Russia’s “unacceptable” invasion of Ukraine.
The crucial economy ministry post is expected to go to Giancarlo Giorgetti, the deputy head of the League and industry minister in the outgoing unity government headed by former central bank chief Mario Draghi.
