The Southern League defends Salvini, whilst dissent continues in the north. Meanwhile, the saga at the Ministry of the Interior continues

Rome. The Northern League is on the offensive, the Southern League is acting as a shield, and the Ministry of the Interior is (still) the ‘gift of the Danaans’. Matteo Salvini, meanwhile, isn’t giving up. Ten dur. Even if the activists’ Instagram-worthy placards aren’t exactly the same as those of the Gemonio branch in Bossi’s day. The activists oppose him, but the secretary relies blindly on his southern vassals who, from Campania to Puglia, are all behind him.

“I joined the party ten years ago,” says Senator Roberto Marti. “I committed to a national project; I joined the League with Salvini, whom the national party had chosen, and I believe that any other conditions should be discussed within the party, not outside it.” But outside the party, in fact, the dissidents from Northern Italy are, according to some, reviving the ‘Interno’ faction. Just yesterday, the Viminal saga took a new turn. Matteo Piantedosi, the minister chosen in 2022 to bring the right-wing parties (and the Leagues) together, is expected to stand as a candidate next year with Fratelli d’Italia. Some news sites in Irpinia – would you believe it – are reporting the candidacy as a ‘done deal’, citing news of an agreement with Meloni, and even the go-ahead from Matteo Salvini who, if things stand as they are, is set to take over the ministry which, from the outset, has been a League stronghold. The ‘Captain’s’ carefully laid plans, however, would now end up trapping him and causing him to lose the party leadership (it’s always the same old story). Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior has issued a denial: “No one has asked the minister to stand as a candidate,” they tell us. “No party.” And from the wing of the League most loyal to the Deputy Prime Minister comes the comment: “They’ve run out of ideas.” This time, the words come from Gianluca Savoini, Salvini’s former spokesperson, when we raise the possibility of a plot by the Northern League involving Piantedosi – the ‘master key’ to the South.

Meanwhile, in Marina di Pietrasanta, the secretary replies: “The League is the party of the north, the centre and the south. If there are some people who think differently, so much the better for democracy, but that is not the party. The party is here today.” I am the party. In the north they grumble; in the south they nod in agreement.