VAbove all towards other countries, the centre-right coalition in Rome led by Giorgia Meloni has made efforts in the first two weeks of its term to present the image of a “Draghi 2.0” government. In the face of the Russian war, Rome is firmly on Ukraine’s side, which has been greeted with satisfaction not only in Kyiv, but also in Washington and Brussels. Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has also managed to convince the EU Commission and the financial markets that Rome is pursuing a “prudent, realistic and sustainable approach” to the budget. And at the climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Meloni promised that Italy would continue to fight climate change.
In domestic and security policy, on the other hand, Meloni and her cabinet have set new priorities, with harsh action against illegal rave parties and irregular migration. But the government’s plan to keep rescue ships from private aid organizations with boat migrants on board away from Italian ports has failed for the time being. Although Meloni and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini praised themselves for the fact that one of four rescue ships – the “Ocean Viking” with 234 migrants on board – after days of waiting off the south-east coast of Sicily, has now set course for France instead of being assigned a port in waiting for Italy. But on Wednesday, Paris did not want to know anything about the news that was spread in Rome late Tuesday evening that the Ocean Viking would dock in Marseille.
