Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni becomes Italy’s first woman PM

Rome: Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right populist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, has become Italy’s first woman Prime Minister.

The official announcement on Friday came after she met President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace here, reports Xinhua news agency.

Meloni, 45, received the mandate to form a new cabinet less than a month after her victory in the country’s snap election on September 25.

Following the meeting, she said the new team was “ready to give Italy a government that confronts with awareness and competence the urgency and challenges of our time”.

Her new cabinet, which will include 22 ministers, will be sworn in on Saturday, Ugo Zampetti, secretary general of the Presidency of the Republic, told reporters.

Meloni’s FdI party won 26 per cent of the votes in September, 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 8 per cent.

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 September was called after Mario Draghi resigned as Prime Minister on July 21.