Italy Parliament’s First Session Exposes Meloni’s Bloc Rifts
- Meloni ally elected Senate speaker despite coalition divisions
- Berlusconi’s Forza Italia had vowed to abstain from the voting
Ignazio La Russa, centre, attends the vote for the new Senate president in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 13.
Photographer: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images
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Italian lawmakers on Thursday elected an ally of right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni as Senate president, in a vote that exposed early rifts within the coalition backing the likely next prime minister.
In its first session since the Sept. 25 elections, the Senate chose Ignazio La Russa, a member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, as president, even as lawmakers from one key party in the coalition opted not to vote. The lower house failed to elect a speaker, as expected.