FAR-RIGHT leader Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s first female prime minister on Saturday.

Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, a neofascist organisation which traces its origins back to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s original National Fascist Party via a succession of organisations, emerged as the largest party in last month’s election and heads a coalition with the Lega of Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.

Her party benefited from refusal to participate in outgoing PM Mario Draghi’s technocratic government. The former European Central Bank chief was the latest in a series of unelected figures appointed to oversee marketising policies unsupported by Italians at elections.

Despite her having deployed anti-EU rhetoric during her campaign, Ms Meloni and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stressed their ability to work together at the weekend, with Ms von der Leyen congratulating the new prime minister as the first woman to hold her office and “looking forward to constructive co-operation on the challenges we face together.”

Ms Meloni replied she was “eager and ready to work with you to strengthen EU resilience towards our common challenges.”

She is seen as more sympathetic to EU policies such as sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine than other Italian right-wing leaders.

Mr Salvini, a long-time admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has attacked the impact of sanctions on the Italian economy, while Mr Belusconi, who as prime minister used to party with the Russian leader, has remarked that the Russian attack was intended to remove Ukraine’s “crazy” government.