The traditional event was held in the Salone dei Galleoni handover between ex and new Prime Minister. At the end of an unusually long (an hour and a half) but very cordial conversation, Mario Draghi handed the bell to one Giorgia Meloni visibly excited, officially leaving the guide of Palazzo Chigi to the new Premier.
One year and eight months after the phone call received from the President of the Republic, Draghi therefore leaves the scene. And he does it after having managed fundamental matches for the survival of the country: from the vaccination campaign to the Pnrr up to the last bet - the gas price negotiation in Brussels - won in extremis two days ago.
Italy salutes one of the most authoritative prime ministers that it has had in its history, a Prime Minister who had the merit of bringing the country back to the center of the European scene, guaranteeing it that credibility and trust that had been lacking for years.
Together with the bell, Giorgia Meloni therefore collects an important legacy and he will have to demonstrate that he is up to it right away given the numerous emergencies that his government will have to face.
The Council of Ministers meets
After the handover ceremony, the new Council of Ministers of the Meloni government meets for the first time. On the agenda is the appointment of Alfredo Mantovano as undersecretary to the Prime Minister. The games that the new ministers will have to play are many and all very difficult: from bills to the budget law, passing through the objectives of the Pnrr, pensions, justice and so on.
Undersecretaries: the possible appointment of Valentini to Foreign Affairs is making noise
Bring the ministers home, it's up to undersecretaries and deputy ministers. Ma the controversy is around the corner. The will of the new Premier Giorgia Meloni is to close this game too in the next 10 days. Even in this case, however, a problem could arise with Forza Italia which, after the deal relating to the Ministry of Justice in the end assigned to Nordio and not to Casellati despite very strong pressure from Berlusconi, expects weight compensations. As per tradition, the list of suitors is very long. Numbers in hand Fi could be up 7-9 places, including “deputies”. First of all the nomination a Deputy Minister of Justice of one of his men (we are talking about Francesco Paolo Sisto). But making noise in the last few hours is another armchair, that of undersecretary for foreign affairs. Forza Italia would in fact like to include the former deputy in that box Valentine Valentini, very close to the parent company Licia Ronzulli. The problem, however, concerns the previous ones: because after the attempts to recover the ground lost internationally due to Silvio Berlusconi's pro-Putin words, Meloni could find himself embarrassed again. As Repubblica recounts, Valentini was the blue liaison officer for years with the Russia, a role that has not gone unnoticed and which according to many observers would make his post at Foreign Affairs inappropriate. It is no coincidence that Valentini, the outgoing deputy vice-president of the forced deputies, recently reappeared on TV to defend the former premier from attacks for stolen pro-Putinian audio. Even in this case, however, there could be a negotiation: Valentini could be moved to Defense in the role of deputy minister, an important seat, but far from foreign eyes.
