Italy: Berlusconi calls Meloni patronising and bossy as relations fray

Three-time former PM's outburst comes as their party's scramble to form a coalition government

Silvio Berlusconi has described Giorgia Meloni, who is poised to become Italy's prime minister, as patronising" and bossy" as the fragile dynamic between the pair unravels as they scramble to form a government.

Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, won the biggest share of the vote in general elections on 25 September, helping to secure the largest majority of any coalition government in Italy since 1994.