ROME - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that Italy would “continue to be a reliable partner of Nato in supporting Ukraine”, amid concerns over the pro-Russian stance of her coalition partners.
But even before she spoke, her coalition ally Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-immigration League party and her new Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, set out his own programme. The vote, followed by another in the Senate on Wednesday, is largely procedural, as her coalition has a comfortable majority in Parliament.
But despite her party’s roots in Italy’s neo-fascist movement, Ms Meloni is expected to follow a similar economic policy to that of Mr Draghi, at least initially. Mr Roberto Cingolani, who served as energy minister in the last government, will also stay on as an adviser, helping to keep the lights on as Italy tries to wean itself off Russian gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine.