Mayors, councillors, provincial representatives. Following the meeting in Via Bellerio, activists continue to raise the stakes in their opposition to the secretary: “We have long been ignored; today we can no longer be ignored. If we fall below 5 per cent, the party will die.”

Report has turned a renowned consultant into a charlatan peddling cheap swabs. Outcome: acquitted of all charges, as the case was unfounded. “I have spent years of my life facing a trial that should never even have begun,” says the former coordinator of the microbiology units in Veneto

“Irregular immigration remains a threat: we have secured the country,” says the Forza Italia senator. “Is the general criticising us? Our identity is not for sale. And alliances are forged on the basis of values, not in the run-up to elections: we owe that to the Italian people”

The appointment of the Northern League member is good news for the Carroccio, which can breathe a sigh of relief during one of its most politically challenging summers. The next target on the horizon is ANAC

“By shifting the focus from the form to the content, the veil of hypocrisy is torn away. The leader of the Five Star Movement has made a knight’s move,” says the TV presenter. “From now on, the broad coalition will no longer be what it was before”

 “Fewer deportations than under Conte and Renzi. At last, even the left, hailing the deportations to Ceuta, endorses the concept of remigration,” says the general. “Regularisation is a disaster; Europe and Italy must change course. Are we to side with this right-wing government? If anything, they will have to agree with us.”

“I loved the city, as a man from the north who’d moved to the south. After a couple of months of settling in, I was able to listen, joke and chat with people. I’ve always felt as down-to-earth as they are,” recalls the Dutchman

The regional president and some of his close allies in the Lega continue to disavow the Doge. The formation of a new group in the Regional Council is a real possibility: ideally, reviving that famous ‘Zaia List’ invoked during the election campaign