Despite being an Eurosceptic herself, Meloni has chosen a staunch European, the former president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, as Foreign Minister. A former European Commissioner and Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest politivcal group in the European Parliament, 69-year-old Tajani is a pro-Israel politician who pleaded for reinforcing the EU-Israel ties when he was in Brussels.

45-year-old Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s first woman Prime Minister on Saturday alongside her government which includes a pro-Israel politician, Antonio Tajani, who becomes Foreign Minister.

She takes office at an especially fraught moment, with Italy’s debt-laden economy once again heading into recession, firms buckling under the weight of soaring energy bills, and splits within her coalition over the war in Ukraine, writes Reuters.

Head of the right-wing conservative Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party, Meloni won the election last month and formed a coalition that includes Forza Italia, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League.

Matteo Salvini, returns to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, which he had already held following the 2018 elections. At the time, he also held the Interior portfolio.

Despite being an Eurosceptic herself, Meloni has chosen a staunch European, the former president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, as Foreign Minister. A former European Commissioner and Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest politivcal group in the European Parliament, 69-year-old Tajani is a pro-Israel politician who pleaded for reinforcing the EU-Israel ties when he was in Brussels.