Giorgia Meloni is back in the news, thanks to her 'Melodi' moment with PM Modi. But her life wasn't always this rosy. Her mother almost didn't give birth to her, and her father left when she was a child.
Giorgia Meloni's Life Story: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Italian PM Giorgia Meloni a 'Melody' toffee, nobody thought this small moment would go so viral on social media. Meloni herself shared a video, smiling, and said, 'Prime Minister Modi brought me a very nice toffee… Melody!' And just like that, the #Melodi trend started all over again on the internet. But the Giorgia Meloni who is always smiling for the cameras has not had a life as easy as it looks. There was a time when her own mother did not want to give birth to her. Her father left her in childhood. The house caught fire. She lived in poverty and had to work in a bar to earn money. Today, that same girl is Italy's first woman Prime Minister. Here is Meloni's story...
Her mother didn't want to give birth to Giorgia Meloni
Giorgia Meloni was born into a simple family in Rome, but her life was full of struggles right from the start. In her autobiography, 'Io sono Giorgia' (I am Giorgia), Meloni wrote that when she was in her mother's womb, her parents' relationship was going through a very rough patch. Fed up, her mother, Anna, decided to have an abortion. She even reached the clinic, but at the last moment, she found the courage from somewhere and returned. Meloni writes that if her mother hadn't shown that courage that day, she wouldn't be in this world. And so, on January 15, 1977, Giorgia Meloni was born in Rome. Her father was a tax advisor and her mother wrote stories.
House turned to ash in a candle fire
When Giorgia was just one year old, her father left the family and moved to Spain, where he remarried. When Meloni was 3, a candle started a massive fire in their house while she was playing. The entire house was burnt to a crisp. With no place to live, they had to spend many nights sleeping on mattresses on the floor at their grandparents' house.
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Dropped out of college, worked in a nightclub
The family's financial situation was so bad that Giorgia couldn't even finish college. To run the household, she did every small and big job she could find. She says, 'I learned life's lessons not sitting on parliament benches, but standing behind the bar counter of a nightclub.' To make a living, she sold music CDs in the market, worked as a babysitter, and also as a bartender at a famous nightclub in Rome. It was this bar counter that taught her to understand the joys and sorrows of ordinary people up close.
Entered politics at 15
When the mafia's terror was at its peak in Italy and a bomb blast killed the famous judge Paolo Borsellino, 15-year-old Giorgia was furious. She decided it was no longer time to sit quiet. She joined a far-right youth group. Her hard work and outspoken style had such an impact that at just 27, she became the first female president of the country's largest youth organization. After this, she became the youngest cabinet minister in Italy's history.
Started her own party and made history
In 2012, when she had disagreements with senior leaders, Giorgia didn't give up. Instead, she and her colleagues started a new party called 'Fratelli d'Italia', or Brothers of Italy. In the beginning, her party got only 4% of the votes, but Giorgia did not accept defeat. She kept touring the streets of Italy, giving speeches in the language of the common people. The result was that in the 2022 elections, her party emerged as the biggest force, and on October 22, 2022, she became the first woman Prime Minister in Italy's 161-year history.
Meloni's love life has also been in the news
Meloni's personal life has also been like a rollercoaster. She met journalist Andrea Giambruno during a TV show. The two were in a live-in relationship for about 8 years and have a 10-year-old daughter, Ginevra. But when some controversies related to Andrea came to light, Giorgia, without any delay, announced the end of their 10-year relationship with a post on social media.
