Giorgia Meloni took office at Palazzo Chigi on Sunday October 23 and chaired the first Council of Ministers. The first meeting of the new government took place after the rite of the bell with outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Opening the Council of Ministers, Giorgia meloni expressed her heartfelt thanks to the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. “We must be united to face the emergencies facing the country,” the prime minister said during the HOM meeting. The meeting, which lasted about half an hour, was to formalize the office of Deputy Prime Minister for Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani and appoint Alfredo Mantovano as Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council.
Photo Ansa / Ettore Ferrari
The two deputy prime ministers, during the short CDM, would have thanked the prime minister and would have reiterated their desire to keep the coalition united, we learn from sources inside the government. “Everything went well,” said Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini as he left Palazzo Chigi. Former Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani will work at Palazzo Chigi as an adviser, we learn from government sources. On Twitter, Giorgia Meloni thanked the Pope: “I thank His Holiness Pope Francis for the thoughts he wanted to address to Italy on this very important day for the Government that I have the honor to preside over”.
Melons, Dragons and the Bell
On the morning of Sunday, October 23, Mario Draghi warmly welcomed Giorgia Meloni at the top of Palazzo Chigi’s grand staircase with a “How are you?” Welcoming”. She, moved, commented: “An emotionally impactful thing”, also referring to the guard of honor who welcomed her in the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi. The two shook hands and Draghi added: “I find you very well. The prime minister in charge thanked and together they gave themselves to the photographers in the Galer room. Shortly after, they went out for a face to face in the office of the president. After more than t an hour of conversation, Mario Draghi gave Giorgia Meloni the bell of the Council of Ministers, formalizing the handover in the prison room.
In the courtyard, before leaving the building, Mario Draghi reviewed the guard of honor and was then greeted by the applause of the Prime Minister’s employees. Outside the Palazzo Chigi, the outgoing Prime Minister greeted journalists with a smile before getting into the car and leaving the executive seat. With the passage of the bell, his twenty months of government come to an end, which began on February 13, 2021, when Draghi received the bell from the hands of Giuseppe Conte.