Historic moment this Sunday morning in Rome, where the outgoing Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, handed over to the post-fascist Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to lead a government in Italy.
An hour of conversation with his predecessor
The transfer of power took place under the gilded Palazzo Chigi, the seat of government a stone’s throw from parliament, exactly a century after Mussolini, of whom Giorgia Meloni was an admirer, came to power.
Upon her arrival on the red carpet prepared for the occasion, Giorgia Meloni, dressed in a black pantsuit and white blouse, reviewed the honor guard to the sound of the brass band. Visibly moved, she was greeted at the top of the stairs by Mario Draghi, who wished her “welcome” and then received her for a heads-up that lasted more than an hour.
This essentially ceremonial stage was marked by the symbolic delivery by Mario Draghi to his successor of the silver bell used by the President of the Council to regulate debates in the Council of Ministers. Under the lens of the cameras, he shook the bell, with Mario Draghi at his side.
Many challenges ahead for Italy
Giorgia Meloni, 45, will head the most right-wing government in the country since the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946.
Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank (ECB) highly appreciated on the international scene and in particular in Brussels, was at the head of the executive since February 2021. At the end of the ceremony, he also left the Chigi Palace. parading in front of the honor guard to the sound of the music band.
This ceremony would be followed by the first Council of Ministers, fundamentally dedicated to making contact between the new ministers and tasks of an administrative nature.
It was then that serious things began for the President of the Government, faced with many challenges, mainly economic, starting with the energy crisis, inflation and debt, whose ratio is the highest in the euro zone after Greece.
Macron expected in Rome
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who travels to Rome this Sunday where he will meet with Pope Francis and deliver a speech on peace, could be the first foreign head of state to meet with Giorgia Meloni, although there are no talks scheduled for this stage.
On Saturday, the European Union, reluctant to face the coming to power of the extreme right, said that it was willing to “cooperate” with the Meloni government, a welcome marked by the congratulations of its three main institutions: Ursula von der Leyen for the European Commission, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.
Giorgia Meloni thanked European leaders, saying she was “ready and eager to work together.”
Source: BFM TV
