Giorgia Meloni: Italians don't need lessons from abroad

Italy's new premier, Giorgia Meloni, on Tuesday laid out her government's policy plans, firing back at critics at home and abroad alarmed that her far-right politics might undermine European unity or citizens' civil rights.

In a speech to Parliament's lower Chamber of Deputies ahead of a confidence vote required of all new governments, Meloni criticized the European Union for not always being ready for challenges, notably the dramatic energy crisis now threatening households and businesses.

But she pledged that her 4-day old government, with its right-wing and center-right coalition allies, will stay loyal to EU accords while working for changes to some of them, including on monetary stability.

In her speech, she bristled at critics, including those from foreign governments, who have said they would keep a "vigilant" eye on Italy's first far-right-led government since the end of World War II.

The premier's 10-year-old Brothers of Italy party was the top vote-getter in last month's election for Parliament, winning 26% of the ballots cast.

Together with her main allies, anti-migrant League leader Matteo Salvini, and conservative former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Meloni's coalition can command enough support in both chambers of Parliament to win the confidence votes and get down to the business of governing.

The Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to vote Tuesday evening and the Senate on Wednesday.

The premier also upheld her campaign pledge to back Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion.

Meloni also sought to allay detractors’ fears that her government would undo Italy’s abortion rights law, saying her center-right government “will never limit citizens’ freedom.”

Instead, she said, to boost Italy's birthrate, one of the world's lowest, her government aims to establish free daycare centers and nursery schools that will stay open during business and store hours, and to "reward companies that make it easier for women to reconcile roles" at work and at home.

Meloni has been dogged by critics who say she hasn't unambiguously condemned fascism.

Brothers of Italy, which she co-founded in 2012, has roots in a far-right party founded by nostalgists for 20th century dictator Benito Mussolini.

"I have never felt sympathy or closeness for any undemocratic regime, including fascism," Meloni told lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies.

She decried Mussolini's 1938 racist laws, which persecuted Italy's small Jewish community as "the lowest point of Italian history.”