MADRID, 21 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, has once again summoned the leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, to foreseeably entrust her with the formation of the future government, after verifying in the round of consultations with the different parties that she is the only one with options of succeed the current prime minister, Mario Draghi.
The last formations to parade before Mattarella have been precisely the three that make up the right-wing coalition, with the Brothers of Italy at the head. At the end of the meeting with the president -brief, barely ten minutes-, Meloni appeared together with the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, and the leader of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi.
The far-right leader, who aspires to be the first woman to govern Italy and will meet again with Mattarella at 4:30 p.m. –according to a statement from the Presidency–, has confirmed that she is “ready” and has the “unanimous” support of Your partners. “We want to proceed in the shortest possible time”, she has told the media after the first meeting.
Berlusconi has posted on Twitter a photo of the Forza Italia team that has attended the meeting at the Quirinal and has promised to have a “decisive contribution” in the formation of the new cabinet, for which there is no stipulated deadline.
“The team is ready”, Salvini has also emphasized, in statements to the Rai chain before the expected meeting. After him, she has taken Mattarella’s order for granted: “Ready to take our beautiful country by the hand,” she has posted on Facebook.
The three parties must now finish agreeing to divide up the ministries. After this procedure, Meloni should meet again with the president, who has the capacity to filter that list if he considers any of the names presented inadmissible.
The distribution of portfolios has been precisely one of the issues that Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi have faced in recent weeks, with even public recriminations. Berlusconi took it for granted that Forza Italia would have five ministries, including those of Justice and Foreign Affairs, the latter for his ally Antonio Tajani.
Tajani would also act as deputy prime minister, in a tandem with Salvini, who could keep the Transport portfolio and cede Interior, which he already held during his alliance with the 5 Star Movement (M5S), to another member of his party.
These negotiations have also been disturbed in recent days by some controversial statements by Berlusconi in which he boasted of his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meloni stepped in, making it clear that the future government will be pro-European and will defend the role of NATO.