Italy's Meloni pledges arms for Ukraine, Berlusconi toes line

Helping Kyiv defend itself militarily is the only way to make a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, said on Wednesday (26 October) to parliament.

Meloni, ahead of the confidence vote on her rightist government's newly elected government, stated that "peace can be achieved if we support Ukraine... it will be the only chance for the two parties to negotiate."

Meloni has pledged support for Kyiv repeatedly, while her coalition partners Silvio Berlusconi (and Matteo Salvini) have been more cautious due to their historical ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meloni stated that, while the outcome of war is not determined by the arms Italy supplies Ukraine, they are crucial for Italy's international credibility.

Berlusconi caused a political storm by his sympathies for Putin and accusing the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zilenskiy (of triggering war) last week, but was able to align with Meloni during the Senate confidence vote.

He stated that he had always tried to unite Moscow and the West. However, Russia's invasion in Ukraine made this impossible.

He stated, "In this circumstance we naturally stand with West." "We must work together for peace, and we will do so in complete accordance with our Western allies as long as it respects the will of the Ukrainian people."

The confidence motion was won comfortably by Meloni's government. It was sworn into on Saturday with 115 votes to just 79.

It has won a similar vote in Chamber of Deputies Tuesday (25 October) and is now fully operational. This allows it to tackle the multitude of problems facing the third-largest economy in the euro zone, which is currently in recession according to the Treasury.

Meloni also stated that she would increase the limit on the use of cash. She also ruled out the introduction of a minimum wage because it wasn't the best way to increase Italy’s stagnant wages.

She stated that the government would revise legislation that imposes a windfall tax to energy companies who have benefited from rising oil and gas prices.

Mario Draghi's previous government expected to finance a portion of its measures to reduce the impact of the crisis on families and firms through a 25% windfall tax for energy groups. However, revenues have proven lower than expected.

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