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‘Buon lavoro’: Italian prime minister congratulates US President Biden

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday said Italy "stands ready to face the challenges of our common international agenda together with the United States."

Published: 20 January 2021 17:58 CET
Updated: 20 January 2021 19:08 CET
'Buon lavoro': Italian prime minister congratulates US President Biden
US President Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address at the Capitol on January 20th, 2021. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Following the inauguration on Wednesday of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Vice-President Kamala Harris, Conte sent them his best wishes in facing the tasks ahead.
 
“Best wishes for your work to President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris,” Conte tweeted. “This is a great day for democracy, reaching far beyond the American borders.”
 
“Italy stands ready to face the challenges of our common international agenda together with the United States.”
 

 
The Italian phrase 'buon lavoro' is used to wish someone future success in their work.
 
Nicola Zingaretti, leader of the Democratic Party (PD) which forms part of Italy's ruling coalition government, wrote a letter of congratulations to President Biden on Wednesday in which he said he hoped the two countries could “work together to put the planet, people and prosperity at the centre”.
 
“Your announcement of the re-entry of the United States into the Paris agreement on climate change is excellent news,” Zingaretti wrote.
 
Pope Francis later on Wednesday evening urged new US President Joe Biden to promote “reconciliation and peace” around the world.
 
“At a time when the grave crises facing our human family call for far-sighted and united responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by
a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom,” the pope said in a statement.

 
Kamala Harris is sworn in as US Vice President at the Capitol on January 20th, 2021. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
 
Italy's political leaders have not made any reference to former president Donald Trump in their responses to the US election results or Biden's inauguration.
 
Some European leaders, however, made their feelings about the end of Trump's presidency clear.
 
“Once again, after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
 
“This new dawn in America is the moment we've been waiting for so long. Europe is ready for a new start with our oldest and most trusted partner,” she said at the European Parliament in Brussels.

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POLITICS

Italian PM Meloni’s ally gets EU Commission vice president job

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday named Raffaele Fitto, a member of PM Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, executive vice president in the next European Commission, sparking concern among centre-left lawmakers.

Published: 17 September 2024 11:34 CEST
Italian PM Meloni's ally gets EU Commission vice president job

Fitto, 55, will be in charge of “cohesion and reforms” and become one of von der Leyen’s key lieutenants in the European Union’s executive body, despite concerns from EU lawmakers on the left and in the centre.

“He will be responsible for the portfolio dealing with cohesion policy, regional development and cities,” von der Leyen told a press conference.

Writing on X, Meloni called the choice of Fitto, a member of her Brothers of Italy party, “an important recognition that confirms the newfound central role of our nation in the EU”.

“Italy is finally back as a protagonist in Europe,” she added.

Currently Italy’s European affairs minister, Fitto knows Brussels well and is widely regarded as one of the more moderate faces of Meloni’s government.

But as a member of her party, which once called for Rome to leave the eurozone, his potential appointment to such a powerful post had sparked alarm ahead of von der Leyen’s official announcement.

Centrist French MEP Valerie Hayer described it as “untenable” and Fitto is likely to face a stormy confirmation hearing before the European Parliament.

“Italy is a very important country and one of our founding members, and this has to reflect in the choice,” von der Leyen said of his nomination.

READ ALSO: EU chief to hand economy vice-president job to Italian PM Meloni’s party

Fitto was elected three times to the European Parliament before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, when was charged with managing Italy’s share of the EU’s vast post-Covid recovery plan.

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