taly’s Matteo Salvini calls for European populist alliance
Leader of far-right League seeks to beat ‘Europe of the elites’ in 2019 elections
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League, has said next year’s European elections are an opportunity to create an “international alliance of populists” and overcome a “Europe of the elites”.
Mr Salvini, whose party has been soaring in opinion polls this year after it took the reins of government in Rome, is emerging as one of the most disruptive politicians in the EU, challenging Brussels and individual EU capitals on everything from economic policy to immigration and foreign affairs.
At a political rally in Pontida, a small town in Lombardy considered the spiritual home of the League, Mr Salvini told activists, lawmakers and supporters that he was gearing up for the next political battle after taking power following Italy’s general election in March.
“The European elections next year will be a referendum between the Europe of the elites, of banks, of finance, of immigration and precarious work; and the Europe of people and labour,” Mr Salvini said. “Our project consists in creating an international alliance of populists, which for me is a compliment. I believe we will win a majority”.
Mr Salvini has forged ties with a vast array of European far-right politicians, from Marine Le Pen of France to the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Outside the EU, Mr Salvini has built a close relationship with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, as well as Steve Bannon, the former senior political adviser to US president Donald Trump.
Since taking office in the role of interior minister in the new government, Mr Salvini has taken a hardline stance on immigration, blocking vessels rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea from docking in Italian ports.
Although he has toned down his previous calls for an Italian exit from the euro, Mr Salvini has kept taunting and attacking EU leaders for supposedly taking decisions that clash with the interests of the Italian people — a taste of the European election campaign to come.
Some polls show that the League is emerging as the most popular political party, eclipsing the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, its government coalition partner. And in a sign of Mr Salvini’s growing confidence, he told the crowd in Pontida that the party was set for a long era in power.
“We will govern Italy for the next 30 years, this Italy does not fear anything,” he said.
While Mr Salvini’s allegiances with the conservative far-right in the the May 2019 European elections are crystallising, it is far from certain whether Five Star, which is allied with the UK Independence party in the European Parliament, will run on its own or with partners across the continent.
The centre-right Forza Italia party, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, is part of the European People’s party, while the centre-left Democratic party, is part of the European Socialists Group.
Some PD lawmakers close to Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister, have been considering a tie-up with La Republique En Marche, the political party led by French president Emmanuel Macron.