London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 27, 2026

Berlusconi calls Meloni names as Italy’s right-wing coalition spars

Berlusconi calls Meloni names as Italy’s right-wing coalition spars

The Forza Italia leader calls Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Melon ‘patronizing’ and ‘bossy’ in a note.

Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi appeared to describe Italy’s likely next prime minister and his supposed ally Giorgia Meloni as “patronizing, bossy, arrogant and offensive” in a note photographed by the press.

The epithets, scrawled on a piece of paper in the Italian parliament, were published by La Repubblica on Friday and escalated a row between two of the three parties attempting to form Italy’s next government.

“No willingness to change, she is one with which you cannot get along,” the note concluded.

“An adjective is missing: I am not blackmailable,” Meloni shot back on Friday evening.

The far-right Brothers of Italy leader is seeking to form a government after her coalition with Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s League swept elections last month.

But arguments over ministerial and parliamentary postings have soured the mood.

Berlusconi has refused to endorse the Brothers of Italy’s Ignazio La Russa — a collector of fascist memorabilia — as the next speaker of the country’s Senate.

Salvini told La Stampa that he had warned Berlusconi not to fight Meloni, whose party won more than one and a half times as many votes as Forza Italia and the League combined.

“I warned him, ‘Look, Giorgia has the numbers, you can’t get in the way,'” Salvini reportedly said.

Enrico Letta, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, leaped into the discord on Saturday.

“It does not seem to me to be a majority capable of giving a solid government to the country. They are only able to give the country an internal war, a permanent conflict,” La Stampa reported Letta as saying.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
East Midlands Railway Urges Essential Travel Ahead of Bank Holiday Strikes
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Global and Energy Pressures Weigh
UK Government and Sainsbury’s Launch Plan for 10,000 Youth Work Experience Placements
Scottish Government Plans Tighter Remote-Working Rules and Possible Voluntary Redundancies
Scottish Budget Faces More Than £700 Million Reduction After Tax Revenue Adjustment
Nearly 100 Labour MPs Press Andy Burnham to Back Electoral Reform Commission
UK Energy Price Cap Rises Four Percent to £1,723 as Middle East Conflict Drives Wholesale Gas Costs
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
UK Government Demands Action Against Social Media Content Promoting Dangerous Driving
×