Italy’s parliament meets Thursday for the first time since last month’s far-right elections, a key step in the government-forming process.
Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, secured a historic 26 percent of the vote in the September 25 polls.
But she can only form a government with her recalcitrant allies Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Lega, and Silvio Berlusconi, founder of right-wing Forza Italia.
The three leaders have been struggling to form a cabinet capable of dealing with the myriad of challenges facing the eurozone’s third-largest economy, most notably rising inflation and an energy crisis linked to the war in Ukraine .
“We must not waste any time, the situation in Italy is not easy,” Meloni said on Wednesday before talks with Salvini and Berlusconi, whose parties received nine and eight percent of the vote, respectively.
Members of the Senate and House of Commons will begin voting for new speakers on Thursday, a process that is likely to take several rounds and may last until Friday.
The speakers will then discuss with President Sergio Mattarella who should lead the next government.
– ‘high voltage’ –
The secret elections were a “first test” in an atmosphere of “high tension” between the Allied leaders, the Corriere della Sera newspaper said on Thursday.
Whether the parties of Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi voted together or not “will be a sign of their compactness,” it said.
The daily Stampa said the right was in “chaos” while the Repubblica warned the three leaders were “unprepared” for the government.
Meloni will almost certainly be appointed prime minister – the first woman to take the post in Italy – but must agree with her allies on ministerial appointments and a government program before Mattarella confirms the position.
Meloni has said little in public since her election victory, although she has used social media to dismiss media speculation about her ministerial election.
Brothers of Italy has no government experience — it won just four percent of the vote in the 2018 general election — but it has tried to reassure investors it can handle the pressure.
No firm name has yet emerged for finance minister, the most important government post after prime minister, as debt-ridden Italy grapples with sky-high prices weighing heavily on households and businesses.
Italy has also sought to reduce its dependence on gas from Russia, which the West has accused of deliberately cutting off supplies amid the dispute over the war in Ukraine.
The International Monetary Fund predicted this week that the pressure would push Italy, along with Germany, into recession next year.
