Giorgia Meloni becomes Italy's first woman Prime Minister
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Rome: In Italy, Giorgia Meloni swore in as the new prime minister on Saturday, becoming the first woman premier of the country as well as the first far PM since World War Two, Reuters reported.
Meloni is the chief of the nationalist Brothers of Italy, and she made a dominating victory, allying with Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini's League. Forza Italia is former PM Silvio Berlusconi's party.
Taking the office of the PM, Meloni said that she swore to be faithful to the republic.
Meloni's government is the 12th in Italy since 2,000. It replaced the national unity administration under former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. The new government will have to deal with a number of challenges, including a looming recession, surging energy bills and a strategy for the Ukraine war.
Meloni continuously pledged support to Ukraine, but her ally Berlusconi undercut her and blamed Kyiv for the Russian invasion. He also revealed that he exchanged gifts and letters with his "old friend" Vladimir Putin, the Russian President.
On Friday, Meloni announced her team after days of tense deliberations. She gave five ministries each to her junior partner, the League and Forza Italia and reserved nine cabinet seats for her own party.
The rest of the 24 members of the team is filled by technocrats, of which only six are women.