Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s first female prime minister on Saturday.
In a ceremony at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Meloni was sworn in by Italian President Sergio Mattarella in a ceremony. She heads an alliance of far-right and centre-right parties, her own party, Brothers of Italy, chief among them. With this, Meloni is set to form the most right-wing government Italy has seen in decades, reported CNN. The right-wing coalition scored an overall victory in the country’s general election to form a new parliament after the nationalist Brothers of Italy secured 26% of the vote. “Italians have entrusted us with a relevant responsibility, and it will be our task to not let them down and to do our best to restore the nation’s dignity and pride,” Meloni commented on her Facebook page after winning the general elections.
“We will aim at unifying and highlighting what can bring us close, not what divides us,” she added.
Her main contender, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) led by Enrico Letta, got 19% of the votes. “We are going to make the necessary assessment in the next few days since it is clear mistakes (in their campaign) have been made,” Letta said. Letta also announced that he would lead the party until its next congress, which will be held as soon as possible, and step down after a new leader is chosen. Over 50 million citizens, including some 4.7 million living abroad, were eligible to choose the 400 deputies and 200 senators.
The Interior Ministry said the voter turnout was the lowest ever registered in the country’s post-war history.