New PM Meloni lambasts critics and says Italy is committed to Europe
New premier Giorgia Meloni told MPs that Italy will continue to be a reliable member of the EU, adding that those who plan on monitoring her hard-right government from abroad have "better things to do with their time".
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed her government's support for the European Union, NATO and Ukraine on Tuesday in her first address to parliament, one month after her far-right party accomplished a historic election victory.
The 45-year-old, who was sworn in as Italy's first woman premier on Saturday, also rejected any links with the country's fascist past, saying she had "never felt sympathy or closeness to undemocratic regimes... including fascism".
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is Brothers of Italy a ‘far right’ party?
During the address, Meloni took a swipe at her French counterpart Emanuel Macron, who following a meeting with Meloni on Monday reportedly said that Paris would keep an eye on her administration and judge it based on its actions.
“Those who want to monitor Italy from abroad have better things to do with their time,” the new prime minister said, adding that such international critics “do not disrespect me but the Italian people, who don’t need to take lessons from anyone.”
While affirming Italy's place in the EU, Meloni reserved some criticism for the bloc, which she said has “often not been ready” in the past to perform its function as “a shared home to face challenges that member states struggle to face alone.”
The institution is “not an elite club with major and minor league members,” she asserted, adding that Italy would go to Europe “with its head held high, as a founding country, without subordination and a sense of inferiority as seems to have happened in the past.”
The prospect of a Eurosceptic, populist government leading the eurozone's third largest economy had previously sparked concern among Italy's allies, particularly in the European Union.
"Italy is fully part of Europe and the Western world," Meloni told the lower house of parliament, adding that it would "continue to be a reliable partner of NATO in supporting Ukraine".
The last government, under the leadership of Mario Draghi, was one of the strongest EU supporters of sanctions against Russia and backed the shipment of weapons to Kyiv.
Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party was the main opposition force at the time, was supportive of Draghi's policies despite Italy's heavy dependence on Russian gas.
More recently though, one of her coalition partners, former premier Silvio Berlusconi, has been recorded defending his old friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier on Tuesday, Meloni reassured MPs that she would not give in to "Putin's blackmail on energy".
READ ALSO: PROFILE: Who is Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new prime minister?
Like much of Europe, Italy is battling soaring inflation, fuelled by sky-high energy bills, which risks pushing the country into recession next year.
Meloni said she would strengthen existing measures to help businesses and households cope with rising prices, but warned this would have an effect on spending elsewhere.
Parliament will hold a vote of confidence in the new government on Tuesday evening.
The vote, which is meant to be followed by another one in the Senate on Wednesday, is largely procedural as the right-wing coalition has a comfortable majority in parliament.
Recovery plan
Key to Italy's future growth is almost 200 billion euros ($197 billion) in grants and loans from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, which depend on Rome implementing major reforms from criminal justice to public administration.
Earlier on Tuesday, Meloni said that the recovery plan was an opportunity to make a "real change" but added that she would seek "adjustments" to take into account the rising cost of energy and raw materials.
READ ALSO: Who's who in Italy's new hard-right government?
That said, analysts say there is little room for manoeuvre, with the funds already being disbursed and Brussels seemingly unwilling to re-open negotiations.
Migration
Meloni vowed to stop migrants without the right to asylum in Europe from reaching Italy by boat, as a rescue hotline warned more than 1,300 people were in difficulty in the Mediterranean.
“This government wants to stop illegal departures and break up human trafficking,” Meloni told parliament, adding, however, that the right to asylum would continue to be respected.
She insisted it was time to stop traffickers "being the ones who decide who gets in", while her new interior minister said he may block charity ships from bringing rescued migrants to Italy, reviving a controversial policy from 2019.
Financial policies
In the run-up to the elections, Meloni’s coalition agreed on an expensive programme of tax cuts and spending promises.
However, the new premier emphasised on Tuesday the importance of fiscal prudence as Italy is currently carrying a mammoth debt worth 150 percent of its gross domestic product.
At the time of writing, it isn’t yet clear how Meloni’s statement will sit with her coalition partner, League’s leader Matteo Salvini.
In a series of tweets published on Monday, Salvini vowed action to lower the pension age threshold, extend Italy’s flat tax and finally build a long-discussed bridge between mainland Italy and Sicily, which he said would create 100,000 jobs.
‘Reddito di cittadinanza’ unemployment benefit
Meloni was unrestrained in her criticism of the reddito di cittadinanza unemployment benefit introduced in 2019 by the populist Five Star Movement, calling it a “failure”.
To resounding applause, she quoted Pope Francis’s recent words, “Poverty cannot be fought with welfare, the door to a man's dignity is work," adding that while aid will not be denied to pensioners and the disabled, “for others the solution cannot be the citizen’s income, but work.”
Her comments came as no surprise given that her coalition had already committed in its program to replacing the benefit “with more effective measures of social inclusion and active policies for training and integration into the world of work.”
What form those measures might take, and whether the reddito di cittadinza will be scrapped altogether or simply overhauled, is still unclear.
Comments
See Also
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed her government's support for the European Union, NATO and Ukraine on Tuesday in her first address to parliament, one month after her far-right party accomplished a historic election victory.
The 45-year-old, who was sworn in as Italy's first woman premier on Saturday, also rejected any links with the country's fascist past, saying she had "never felt sympathy or closeness to undemocratic regimes... including fascism".
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is Brothers of Italy a ‘far right’ party?
During the address, Meloni took a swipe at her French counterpart Emanuel Macron, who following a meeting with Meloni on Monday reportedly said that Paris would keep an eye on her administration and judge it based on its actions.
“Those who want to monitor Italy from abroad have better things to do with their time,” the new prime minister said, adding that such international critics “do not disrespect me but the Italian people, who don’t need to take lessons from anyone.”
While affirming Italy's place in the EU, Meloni reserved some criticism for the bloc, which she said has “often not been ready” in the past to perform its function as “a shared home to face challenges that member states struggle to face alone.”
The institution is “not an elite club with major and minor league members,” she asserted, adding that Italy would go to Europe “with its head held high, as a founding country, without subordination and a sense of inferiority as seems to have happened in the past.”
The prospect of a Eurosceptic, populist government leading the eurozone's third largest economy had previously sparked concern among Italy's allies, particularly in the European Union.
"Italy is fully part of Europe and the Western world," Meloni told the lower house of parliament, adding that it would "continue to be a reliable partner of NATO in supporting Ukraine".
The last government, under the leadership of Mario Draghi, was one of the strongest EU supporters of sanctions against Russia and backed the shipment of weapons to Kyiv.
Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party was the main opposition force at the time, was supportive of Draghi's policies despite Italy's heavy dependence on Russian gas.
More recently though, one of her coalition partners, former premier Silvio Berlusconi, has been recorded defending his old friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier on Tuesday, Meloni reassured MPs that she would not give in to "Putin's blackmail on energy".
READ ALSO: PROFILE: Who is Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new prime minister?
Like much of Europe, Italy is battling soaring inflation, fuelled by sky-high energy bills, which risks pushing the country into recession next year.
Meloni said she would strengthen existing measures to help businesses and households cope with rising prices, but warned this would have an effect on spending elsewhere.
Parliament will hold a vote of confidence in the new government on Tuesday evening.
The vote, which is meant to be followed by another one in the Senate on Wednesday, is largely procedural as the right-wing coalition has a comfortable majority in parliament.
Recovery plan
Key to Italy's future growth is almost 200 billion euros ($197 billion) in grants and loans from the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, which depend on Rome implementing major reforms from criminal justice to public administration.
Earlier on Tuesday, Meloni said that the recovery plan was an opportunity to make a "real change" but added that she would seek "adjustments" to take into account the rising cost of energy and raw materials.
READ ALSO: Who's who in Italy's new hard-right government?
That said, analysts say there is little room for manoeuvre, with the funds already being disbursed and Brussels seemingly unwilling to re-open negotiations.
Migration
Meloni vowed to stop migrants without the right to asylum in Europe from reaching Italy by boat, as a rescue hotline warned more than 1,300 people were in difficulty in the Mediterranean.
“This government wants to stop illegal departures and break up human trafficking,” Meloni told parliament, adding, however, that the right to asylum would continue to be respected.
She insisted it was time to stop traffickers "being the ones who decide who gets in", while her new interior minister said he may block charity ships from bringing rescued migrants to Italy, reviving a controversial policy from 2019.
Financial policies
In the run-up to the elections, Meloni’s coalition agreed on an expensive programme of tax cuts and spending promises.
However, the new premier emphasised on Tuesday the importance of fiscal prudence as Italy is currently carrying a mammoth debt worth 150 percent of its gross domestic product.
At the time of writing, it isn’t yet clear how Meloni’s statement will sit with her coalition partner, League’s leader Matteo Salvini.
In a series of tweets published on Monday, Salvini vowed action to lower the pension age threshold, extend Italy’s flat tax and finally build a long-discussed bridge between mainland Italy and Sicily, which he said would create 100,000 jobs.
‘Reddito di cittadinanza’ unemployment benefit
Meloni was unrestrained in her criticism of the reddito di cittadinanza unemployment benefit introduced in 2019 by the populist Five Star Movement, calling it a “failure”.
To resounding applause, she quoted Pope Francis’s recent words, “Poverty cannot be fought with welfare, the door to a man's dignity is work," adding that while aid will not be denied to pensioners and the disabled, “for others the solution cannot be the citizen’s income, but work.”
Her comments came as no surprise given that her coalition had already committed in its program to replacing the benefit “with more effective measures of social inclusion and active policies for training and integration into the world of work.”
What form those measures might take, and whether the reddito di cittadinza will be scrapped altogether or simply overhauled, is still unclear.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.