Meloni sworn in as Italy's first female PM

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, was sworn in on Saturday as the country's first female prime minister, receiving congratulations from European leaders of various political shades.

Meloni, 45, and her cabinet took the oath before President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, a day after he asked her to form a government.

Meloni's right-wing coalition was victorious in an election on Sept 25 after her party won 26 percent of the vote, compared with 8 percent for her coalition partner Forza Italia headed by the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and 9 percent for the other coalition partner, the League party led by Matteo Salvini.

This is the first time the Brothers of Italy party that Meloni co-founded in 2012 has been in government.

The 24 cabinet ministers announced include six women. Five of the ministers are regarded as technocrats.

Salvini, 49, who was interior minister from 2018 to 2019, is now deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport.

Giancarlo Giorgetti, also from the League party and a former minister of economic development under Mario Draghi, is the minister of economics and finance.

Antonio Tajani of the Forza Italia party, who had served as president of the European Parliament and a European commissioner, is the foreign minister and deputy prime minister.

A ceremony for the formal transfer of power from Draghi to Meloni in Europe's third-largest economy took place on Sunday. Draghi, a former European Central Bank president, served as prime minister for 20 months.

Meloni is expected to give a speech in the coming days and win a vote of confidence in both chambers before her government, the 68th in Italy since the end of World War II, can assume full powers. Her coalition now commands majorities in both chambers.

Meloni's win last month drew concerns in the European Union for her past views as a Euroskeptic and for being anti-immigration and pro-Russia. She has repeatedly vowed to put Italy's national interests first.

Meloni has since voiced support for Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while Berlusconi and Salvini are still considered sympathetic to Russia.

European political leaders offered quick congratulations shortly after Saturday's swearing-in.

"I count on and look forward to constructive cooperation with the new government on the challenges we face together," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"I look forward to continuing working closely together with Italy in EU, NATO and G7," Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a tweet: "Congratulations @GiorgiaMeloni on the formation of your government! Big day for the European Right!"

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who lost the recent presidential election but whose National Rally party won more seats in the parliament this year, congratulated Meloni.

"Throughout Europe, patriots are coming to power and with them, this Europe of nations that we are calling for."

Among 27 EU member states, another right-wing coalition government took office last week in Sweden, where the far-right Sweden Democrats, known for its anti-immigration, anti-Islam and Euroskeptic stance, won the most votes among right-wing parties in the latest election.

The new government unveiled by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate party last Tuesday shocked many in the EU after the Ministry of the Environment was incorporated into another ministry.