Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader
Giorgio Meloni looks set to become Italy's next premier if the
right/centre-right coalition wins the September 25 general
election after the alliance agreed that the party that gets most
votes should pick the name to put to President Sergio
Mattarella.
The agreement was reached at a meeting of right/centre-right
leaders on Wednesday after the issue of the future premier had
caused some turmoil within the alliance.
Meloni, whose right-wing party is currently top of the opinion
polls, laid down an ultimatum on Monday, saying there was no
point being in an alliance without an agreement on the premier
candidate.
Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI)
had proposed putting off the decision to a vote of centre-right
lawmakers after the election.
"Let's win first and then see who lifts the cup," FI Coordinator
Antonio Tajani had said.
But Meloni's stance prevailed at Wednesday's meeting after
League leader Matteo Salvini had also come out in favour of the
principle that the party that gets most votes should also get
the right to choose the premier nominee.
"Giorgia Meloni has the right credentials and authoritativeness
to be the premier of a high-level government, that is creditable
at the international level and is solidly tied to Europe, as
does Matteo Salvini and many other figures in Forza Italia and
other parts of the coalition," Berlusconi said in an interview
in Thursday's edition of QN daily.
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