Giorgia Meloni is all set to become Italy’s first woman prime minister after her party, the nationalist Brothers of Italy, won the elections on Sunday.
Pro-term results showed the rightist bloc should have a strong majority in both houses of parliament, possibly giving Italy a scarce opportunity for political stability after years of turmoil and frail coalitions.
However, Meloni and her allies face a formidable list of challenges such as sky-rocketing energy prices, the war in Ukraine, and a revived decline in economic activity in Europe’s third-largest economy.
“We must remember that we are not at the endpoint, we are at the starting point. It is from tomorrow that we must prove our worth,” the 45-year-old Meloni told her happy supporters of her nationalist Brothers of Italy party early Monday morning.
Meloni attaches very little importance to her party’s post-fascist origins and represents it as a mainstream group like Britain’s Conservatives. She has vowed to support Western policy on Ukraine and not take risks with Italy’s weak finances.
European capitals and financial markets will inspect closely and thoroughly her early moves, given her history of opposition to increasing the powers of the European Union and her allies’ uncertain position on Russia.
