Italy's first female prime minister leads the most far-right government since the fascist era of Mussolini

• Giorgia Meloni has become Italy's first female Prime Minister.
• Her new government is set to be the most right-wing since the era of Benito Mussolini.

Far-right firebrand politician Giorgia Meloni has been sworn in as Italy's new prime minister, making history as the first woman to hold the position.

The leader of the Brothers of Italy party – which has roots in the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement —has formed a coalition with the far-right League party and the center-right Forza Italia.

With Meloni's party in power, Italy's government is expected to be the most right-wing since the era of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled the country from 1922 to 1943, Insider's Natalie Musumeci and John Haltiwanger report.

The 45-year-old mother of one has made her conservative views clear. "Yes to natural families, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, no to gender ideology, yes to the culture of life, no to the abyss of death," Meloni told supporters of Spain's far-right conservative party Vox in June, Reuters reported.

She also said, "No to the violence of Islam, yes to safer borders, no to mass immigration, yes to work for our people, no to major international finance."

Her working-class roots and political ambition have defined her ascent to power. In her teenage years, Meloni was an activist in the Italian Social Movement or MSI, and she became Italy's youngest-ever minister in 2008, according to Reuters.x

Meloni has distanced herself from her neo-fascist roots to make her electable and previous comments she made as a teenager about Mussolini being a "good politician." "Obviously, I have a different opinion now," Meloni said without elaborating, Reuters reported.

Like many European countries, Italy's new government is tasked with tackling a crippling cost of living crisis, mainly driven by soaring gas and food prices, attributed to the war in nearby Ukraine.

Her new government has already shown signs of political tensions, with the leader of the Forza party, former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, having left a note in public view at the opening of Parliament calling the new prime minister as overbearing, domineering, arrogant, and offensive, according to Politico.

Berlusconi and Meloni also strongly disagree in their response to the war in Ukraine, with Meloni having previously pledged support for Zelenskyy's battle against Putin and Berlusconi blaming Kyiv for the invasion and exchanging gifts with the Russian leader, according to Reuters.

League leader Matteo Salvini, Meloni's other far-right ally, has also long been seen as a Putin admirer, reported the BBC.