Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has been named the new prime minister of Italy becoming the first woman to head a government in the European country.
Eurosceptic and anti-immigration who are her post-fascist Brothers of Italy party — won September 25 legislative polls but needs outside support to form a government.
Meloni’s appointment is an historic event for the eurozone’s third largest economy and for Brothers of Italy, which has never been in government.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the 45-year-old from Rome will now name her ministers who will be sworn in on Saturday in front of President Sergio Mattarella.
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Shortly after she was named, Meloni appointed Giancarlo Giorgetti as economy minister, who served under the previous government of Mario Draghi.
Giorgetti, a former minister of economic development, is considered one of the more moderate, pro-Europe members of Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party.
Her Brothers of Italy party won 26 percent of the vote last month, compared to eight and nine percent respectively for her allies Forza Italia and the far-right League.
The consultations to cobble a government had been overshadowed by disagreements over Meloni’s ardent support for Ukraine since the Russian invasion, with her two would-be coalition partners who are both considered close to Moscow.
A recording was leaked during the week in which Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi — who heads Forza Italia — talks about his warm ties with Moscow and appeared to blame the war in Ukraine on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Her other coalition partner, Salvini, is a long-time fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has criticised Western sanctions on Russia.
Despite her Eurosceptic stance, Meloni has been firm about her support for Ukraine, in line with the rest of the European Union and the United States.
Berlusconi, 86, has said that his personal and political position ‘do not deviate from that of the Italian government (and) the European Union’ on Ukraine.
But the tensions add to concerns that Meloni’s coalition, held together by the need for a parliamentary majority, will struggle to maintain unity.
