The prime minister has urged her office staff to “rest properly” during the Christmas holidays
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered a bleak forecast for 2026, wishing her office staff a happy Christmas while cautioning them to prepare for a tough year ahead.
“The past year has been tough for all of us but don’t worry because next year will be even worse,” she quipped.
Speaking Tuesday in the courtyard of her official Rome residence, Palazzo Chigi, Meloni also told her team she loved them, adding that they “were a family that fought together all year” and advising them “to rest properly during these holidays because we have to keep responding to this extraordinary nation.”
Her comments follow a wave of strikes across Italy last month, when teachers, doctors, and transport workers protested the government’s proposed budget—which includes welfare reforms and higher defense spending. The demonstrations highlighted widespread unhappiness with fiscal policies and their potential impact on public services.
In response to the unrest, Meloni announced the budget would not cut funding for local authorities for the first time in many years, aiming to address concerns from various sectors.
Despite domestic challenges, Italy has continued to provide financial aid to Ukraine, with the European Commission transferring a sixth tranche of €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) in support to Kiev under the bloc’s Ukraine Facility. However, Meloni has ruled out sending Italian troops to Ukraine, separating Rome from Western discussions about increased military involvement.
Moscow has called the Ukraine conflict a proxy war being waged against Russia by the West. Russia has repeatedly criticized Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, arguing they only prolong the fighting and raise casualties without changing the conflict’s outcome.