Italy lower house elects pro-Putin right-winger as speaker

A pro-Russia, anti-gay politician was elected speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament on October 14, a day after a nationalist lawmaker who collects fascist memorabilia became speaker of the Senate.

The twin votes followed last month's parliamentary election which was won by a trio of conservative parties - Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's League, and Forza Italia, which is led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, Reuters reports.

Meloni is expected to be named prime minister before the end of the month but putting together a cabinet is proving much more difficult than expected, with Berlusconi, in particular, furious over her refusal to satisfy his requests for key cabinet posts.

His pungent opinions of her were revealed by a photographer who took a picture of a note in his handwriting that he briefly held while in parliament on Thursday. The photo has since gone viral on social media.

"Giorgia Meloni, her behaviour 1) overbearing, 2) domineering, 3) arrogant, 4) offensive ... No willingness to change, she is someone you can't get along with," the note said.

Meloni had looked to moderate her image during the election campaign, playing down her previous Euroscepticism and insisting that her party was a mainstream conservative group.

However, the election of speakers for the two chambers of parliament highlighted the strong, hard-right core that runs through her coalition.

The choice of Brothers of Italy veteran Ignazio La Russa, who in 2018 showed off his keepsakes of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, was expected.

The decision to put forward League lawmaker Lorenzo Fontana as a speaker for the lower house was a surprise. He is known for his socially conservative, eurosceptic positions and he has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him in 2018 "a shining light even for us in the West".