Italian Meloni Cabinet Officially Launched... Senate Confidence Vote Also Passed

Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] The new Italian cabinet led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed a confidence vote in the Senate following the House of Representatives.

According to Bloomberg on the 26th (local time), the Italian Senate approved the Meloni cabinet confidence motion with 115 votes in favor and 79 against. There were 5 abstentions. The day before, the House of Representatives passed the confidence motion with 235 votes in favor and 154 against.

Thus, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Meloni officially launched as the 68th cabinet since the establishment of the republic in 1946. Since the right-wing coalition led by Meloni secured control of both the Senate and the House in last month's general election on the 25th, this confidence vote was merely a formal procedure.

In her Senate speech that day, Meloni reiterated her support for Ukraine, as she did in her speech to the House the previous day. She emphasized, "Italy will help Ukraine acquire the capability to defend itself," adding, "Continuing support for Ukraine is the only path to achieving peace."

Silvio Berlusconi, former leader of Forza Italia (FI), who recently sparked controversy after recordings surfaced containing remarks defending Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, also expressed his intention to stand with Prime Minister Meloni. Berlusconi stated, "There is no doubt about Italy's role within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."

Having secured parliamentary support, Meloni stated on her Twitter, "I will immediately take action to address the urgent situation facing Italy."

Amid the escalating energy crisis, Meloni, now leading Italy?the third-largest economy in the Eurozone?has prioritized financial support for households and businesses as her top policy agenda. Advocating for a "strong Italy," she also pledged to strongly voice calls for reform of the European Union (EU) and criticized the European Central Bank (ECB) for what she described as premature interest rate hikes.

Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Meloni is pushing a support package worth 9.6 billion euros (approximately 13.7 trillion won) for households and businesses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.