Italy: Giorgia Meloni, appointed Prime Minister, will present her government

Eva Deschamps / October 22, 2022

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party that won the legislative elections, presented the composition of her government on Friday after accepting the task entrusted by President Sergio Mattarella.

Ms. Meloni, 45, becomes the first woman called to this position in the history of the country. Her government, composed of 24 ministers, will be sworn in at 08:00 GMT on Saturday morning at the Quirinal Palace in Rome.

Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economic Development under outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, has been appointed Minister of the Economy.

Mr. Giorgetti, 55, is considered a powerful but discreet figure in Matteo Salvini’s League (far right), of which he is considered one of the most moderate and pro-European representatives.

Former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, a member of Forza Italia, is appointed to the Foreign Affairs portfolio.

MEP Raffaele Fitto, co-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, chaired by Giorgia Meloni, inherits the European Affairs portfolio.

Matteo Salvini, boss of the anti-immigration League, returns to the post of deputy prime minister, which he had already held after the 2018 elections, when his party formed a government with the populist Greens of the 5-Star Movement.

In addition, he takes the portfolio of Infrastructure and Transport.

The technocrat Matteo Piantedosi, 59, who has spent his entire career in the prefecture and the senior civil service, has been appointed Minister of the Interior in a nationalist government for which security and immigration issues are strategic.

Carlo Nordio, a member of parliament, has been appointed Minister of Justice, while Guido Crosetto, who is very close to Giorgia Meloni, has been appointed Minister of Defence.