Italy swears in Parliament and awaits Meloni with uncertain government and fractured opposition

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The new Italian Parliament was inaugurated this Thursday (13), with the appointment of 400 deputies and 200 senators elected at the end of September. The ceremony represents the beginning of the process of defining the next government, which should be led by the ultra-rightist Giorgia Meloni, the first woman in power in the country and political heir of post-fascism.

President of the most voted party, with 26%, and elected for the fifth term in the Chamber, Meloni needs to follow a ritual that involves Parliament and the Presidency of the Republic before being confirmed as prime minister and then having the cabinet. approved. The negotiations could take a few weeks, and the optimistic forecast is that the future government will be known between the end of October and the beginning of November.

More than a formality, the consultation process with President Sergio Mattarella, in its role of institutional guarantee, can influence the composition of the ministry, with the rejection of names. In 2018, during the formation that lasted almost three months, one quoted for the Economy ended up vetoed, for positions contrary to the euro.

It is precisely on this list of names that Meloni (Brothers of Italy) and his partners in the right-wing coalition, Matteo Salvini (Liga) and Silvio Berlusconi (Força, Italy), work intensively, with dozens of names aired by the Italian press. Before arriving at a “strong and united government”, in her words, it is necessary to balance the allies’ demands for space and international expectations, in the economic and geopolitical spheres.

In addition to the economy, one of the main issues has been the role that Salvini will play, who would like to resume command of the Ministry of the Interior, under which security and immigration policies are carried out. Its “closed ports” strategy included, between 2018 and 2019, a ban on the disembarkation of ships providing relief to refugees in the Mediterranean.

In this game, the dispute for the presidencies of the Legislative also enters – the far-right coalition won the absolute majority, with 237 seats in the Chamber and 115 in the Senate. The choice of the heads of the two Houses began at this Thursday’s session. In the Senate, Ignazio La Russa was elected, founder with Meloni of the Brothers of Italy and, like her, a former member of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement party.

“It will be a Parliament clearly shifted to the right, with the strongest party at the extreme point”, he tells Sheet Donatella Della Porta, professor of political science at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Florence. A legislature that, according to her, does not fully correspond to the choice of the majority of the country. Due to the mixed electoral system, with seats decided in a majority and proportional way, large political forces that managed to close coalitions were benefited: right-wing acronyms obtained 44% of the votes, which became the control of 58% of the seats.

The advantage is smaller in the Senate, with just 14 seats securing a majority. The scenario may compromise the government’s performance, if divisions observed since the election campaign are accentuated. Meloni, Salvini and Berlusconi have differences regarding the response to the energy and inflation crisis, the relationship with the European Union and aspects of the Ukraine War.

“The right is well divided, something evident in the process of choosing ministers, but also in long-term issues. The Brothers of Italy is a nationalist acronym, while the League was born separatist. Força, Italia represents a neoliberal right, the League is populist”, explains Della Porta. “Let’s see how long the alliance lasts. Alone, Meloni can’t get the majority, she needs Salvini and Berlusconi.”

The division, however, is not exclusive to the forces that are preparing to rule. The opposition is also in a very disunited situation — the main forces are the center-left Democratic Party and the populist Five Star Movement, which was born anti-system but has recently moved to the center-left.

The differences between the second and third most voted parties (PD, with 19%, and M5S, 15%) deepened with the fall of the Mario Draghi government in July, which brought the elections forward. Draghi’s departure was detonated by M5S, while the PD was a staunch supporter of the former banker, which made an alliance in the election unfeasible, which would have been more competitive.

“The PD made a fundamental political mistake by identifying too much with the Draghi government and devaluing the administration of Giuseppe Conte, which was highly regarded by left-wing voters”, says Antonio Floridia, responsible for the Electoral Observatory of Tuscany and a former member of the PD. The two legends formed the support base of the Conte 2 government, between 2019 and 2021.

While the PD carried out a non-programmatic campaign, centered on polarization with Meloni, the M5S focused its proposals on maintaining the basic income program, created under its government and criticized by the right, especially in the poorer south of the country. “Conte has political merit. He understood that there was a very strong left-wing space and he knew how to mobilize voters”, says Floridia.

In recent days, polls have shown that approval for M5S continues to grow, while PD continues to decline. Party leader Enrico Letta acknowledged the crisis and began an internal review process that will culminate in a congress to choose the new board in March.

For Della Porta, the party is not in a position to lead the opposition. “M5S presents a position closer to the unions, more progressive, and is ready to make a more dynamic opposition.”

There is still unrest outside Parliament. In recent weeks, unions and feminist movements have taken to the streets in large cities, in defense of social policies and civil rights, considered threatened by the future Meloni government.

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