ROME, Oct 23 (NNN-XINHUA) – Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right populist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, became Italy’s first woman prime minister on Friday.
The official announcement came, after she met with the country’s President, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale Presidential Palace here, in the afternoon.
Meloni received the mandate to form a new cabinet less than a month after her victory in the country’s snap election, on Sept 25.
Her new cabinet, which included 22 ministers, was sworn in yesterday, Ugo Zampetti, secretary general of the Presidency of the Republic, told reporters.
Meloni’s FdI party won 26 percent of the vote in Sept, and she will now lead the country in a right-wing alliance with Matteo Salvini’s League party, and former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia, each of which snagged just over eight percent.
Next week, the new government will face confidence votes in both houses of Parliament.
Meloni’s government is set to command a comfortable majority in both houses of Parliament (Chamber of Deputies and Senate).
The snap election in Sept was called after Mario Draghi – an economist and former chief of the European Central Bank – resigned as prime minister on July 21.– NNN-XINHUA
