She recited the formula from memory, visibly moved, dressed in all black, looking around for her daughter, little Ginevra, who at only six years old was obviously disoriented in the solemn Festival Hall of the Quirinal Palace. "I swear to be faithful to the Republic, loyally comply with the Constitution and the laws and exercise my mandate and my functions in the exclusive interest of the nation," she promised before the head of state, Sergio Mattarella. At 45, Giorgia Meloni yesterday became the first woman in Italian history to become Prime Minister, but also the first far-right politician to lead the Executive of the third largest economy in the euro zone. A signature with a golden pen yesterday sealed the change of course that Italy is taking from now on.
Before her were her 24 brand new ministers, who together make up the most conservative Executive that the country has had in recent decades. “With pride and sensitivity, we will serve Italy. Now we get to work”, the new premier tweeted, publishing the image of the team.
During the election campaign, Meloni promised restraint towards the foreign press, and also wanted to put in some technocrats to win the trust of Brussels. In the end, his Cabinet is practically political, a reflection of the results at the polls of the right-wing coalition that won the elections, distributed in a tactical balancing act between the Brothers of Italy, the League and Forza Italia. In this country, this is news. Meloni is the first female head of government voted for by voters since Silvio Berlusconi was ousted from power in 2011 after his multiple scandals. The first departure of the will from the polls in a nation accustomed to seeing government changes every year and a half. The big question now is how long it will last.
To try to complete the legislature, Meloni had two options on the table. Either corner your government partners, or give them a shared responsibility. In the end he opted for the second, a tactic to make them think twice before attempting any maneuver that would destabilize the coalition. Brothers of Italy has obtained nine ministries, and the other two parties, five each. In addition, there are five technicians. But the greatest gesture is having recovered the figure of deputy prime minister – it did not exist with Mario Draghi – and granting it to both Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, and Antonio Tajani, Berlusconi's deputy, the new foreign minister.
The Italian situation, with runaway inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the need to meet the demands of the reforms of the European recovery plan, is not going to leave much room for the Meloni Government to make big economic changes. But the names of some of the more socially nuanced ministries already indicate that the possible revolution will surely come from elsewhere. For example, there is a new Ministry of Companies and Made in Italy. Or that of Family and Natality, which is headed by Eugenia Roccella, a woman who in August, in a television debate, denied that abortion was a right and defined it as "the dark side of motherhood." It is contrary to the abortion pill, homosexual unions, euthanasia, the crime of homophobia and the reduction of time limits for divorce. After electing the ultra-conservative leaguer Lorenzo Fontana president of the Chamber of Deputies, LGBT activists and feminists have once again launched the alert.
Other appointments have raised suspicions. The new Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty – a formula copied from France – falls to Italy's brother-in-law, Francesco Lollobrigida, a distant relative of the actress who is married to Arianna, the sister and confidante of the new premier. Then there is Paolo Zangrillo, the new Minister of Public Administration, from Forza Italia, who happens to be the brother of Silvio Berlusconi's personal doctor.
The billionaire was the big absentee from the swearing-in ceremony. At 86 years old, he has preferred – or been forced – to remain in a discreet role as “adviser” to the prime minister. After a week marked by the scandalous audios in which he boasted of his friendship with Vladimir Putin, that he gave him vodka – in breach of European sanctions – and blamed Ukraine for the invasion, Meloni has managed to silence him, for the moment. He remains to be seen if, now that he has returned to the Senate, there will be more outbursts. The latter was nothing to blow up the birth of this government.
One of the movements that will have hurt the tycoon the most is having chosen Carlo Nordio, a former magistrate close to the Brothers of Italy, as Minister of Justice. Due to the judicial processes still open against him, Il Cavaliere wanted his party to keep that portfolio, but Putin's tantrum has just put that dream away. Nordio, whom Meloni wanted as president of the Republic, has an important career with important investigations such as the Tangentopoli corruption process or against the Red Brigades.
Meloni may not like Brussels, where they were enthusiastic about Mario Draghi, but in the EU they are well aware that it is good to get along with her. Congratulations soon arrived from Ursula von der Leyen, from Charles Michel, from Roberta Metsola, but also from Joe Biden, president of the United States, who asked him to continue supporting Ukraine. Volodímir Zelensky also congratulated, remarking the same thing.
Today French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Rome for an audience with Pope Francis and to deliver a speech at a peace forum organized by the community of Sant'Egidio. It is not excluded that he will be the first foreign leader to meet with the new Italian prime minister.
