Italy’s first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, took office on Sunday. She thanked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his congratulations on her newly formed government and promised to continue cooperating with him in solving Europe’s most pressing challenges.
“Thanks PM Viktor Orbán,” Meloni tweeted on Sunday. “[I’m] ready to cooperate to find common and effective solutions to the economic, energy and security challenges Europe is now facing. Let’s do our best!”
The Italian media highlighted Viktor Orbán’s congratulations, also published on Twitter after Meloni’s swearing-in ceremony.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote about a significant day for Italy, the European Union, and NATO. “We need determined, courageous leadership which supports enduring values. Today, Europe and Poland have such an ally in Rome,” Morawiecki wrote.
Giorgia Meloni replied to all the politicians who congratulated her, including President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden.
Meloni’s Brother of Italy party stormed to victory in last month’s national poll, taking 26 percent of the vote, which allowed her to form a new right-wing administration alongside Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, both of which took just over 8 percent of the vote.
Despite lobbying hard for his previous role as interior minister, Salvini was instead appointed minister of infrastructure and deputy prime minister in Meloni’s new cabinet on Friday.
