Salvini’s isolation. Northern governors are preparing to oust him and are open to his replacement. Farewell to the Ministry of the Interior

Nothing should be ruled out. Not even the possibility that Matteo Salvini, given the current state of affairs, might suddenly feel the urge to throw himself headlong into the role of Minister of Transport. “Nothing should be ruled out”, after all, said Lombardy’s president Attilio Fontana yesterday regarding his secretary’s step back. A rather more unbalanced statement than the usual “stay calm” rhetoric. And indeed, the atmosphere amongst Lega governors and administrators is that of a “scorching September” following a tropical August. For now, Zaia, Fugatti and Fedriga are holding off on commenting on Fontana’s remarks to Il Corriere. But they are bracing themselves for an autumn of mobilisation, perhaps even before Pontida. Meanwhile, Salvini sees his hopes of the Interior Ministry slipping away, perhaps for good. Meloni, given the chaos with Spain (and Germany), prefers a technocrat like Piantedosi.

It is by anticipating the audience their words will reach that one chooses whom to speak to. After weeks of turbulent behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, yesterday the President of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, finally chose the Corriere della Sera as his platform, giving an interview that is already being described by members of the League as “a watershed”. The gist of Fontana’s remarks is that “our party members, not only in Lombardy but throughout the North, are listening to the public and reporting a sense of unease. Within the executive committee, together with Secretary Massimiliano Romeo, we have given voice to this unease and to the needs of local authorities and citizens, putting forward political assessments based on a simple fact: we have gone from 34 per cent to 5 per cent of the vote”. For this reason, regarding the possible replacement of Salvini, “nothing should be ruled out. The League does not fear renewal. We are calling for a sustainable and effective review of our party’s structure, to make the most of its own strengths. Because there is a great need for this now. And the revitalisation of the League is a priority for the entire centre-right coalition,” the governor points out. This is a strong stance, following years in which it was said that the ‘second League’—that of local administrators—always ended up toeing the secretary’s line when put to the test. But above all, it is a move that could pave the way, in the coming weeks, for a similar move by the former president of Veneto, Luca Zaia. As well as that of Maurizio Fugatti, president of the province of Trento. Meanwhile, Massimiliano Fedriga, president of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, appears, for the time being, to be taking a more conciliatory stance towards the secretary.

The aim remains the establishment of an association that stays (for now, who knows about the future) within the party. Yet one that focuses on local and identity-based issues, emphasising federalism and civil rights. A sort of policy platform which, rumour has it, could one day form an alternative motion to Salvini’s. In the meantime, however, the Lombardy president’s statements have ruffled feathers within the Carroccio. A long-standing League member such as Igor Iezzi goes so far as to argue that “the debate surrounding Matteo Salvini is disrespectful towards the activists who voted for him – unanimously, incidentally – a year ago. It’s a very ‘Lombardy-centric’ debate, very much in the style of the First Republic”. Deputy Secretary Silvia Sardone vented her frustration in the Federal Council chat: “When an article comes out that doesn’t talk about internal squabbles, let me know…”. This was followed, still in the chat, by comments from Andrea Crippa, Luca Toccalini, Giulio Centemero, Susanna Ceccardi and Alberto Di Rubba, all in favour of toning down the rhetoric. Claudio Durigon, too, takes a swipe at the northerners: “There are those who want the much-maligned Rome”… Fontana’s words, on the other hand, are seen as a blessing by all Bossi’s supporters. And Senator Garavaglia, speaking to HuffPost, also says: “An impeccable interview”. It feels like a day of reckoning. This is on the party front, but even looking at the government, these have been difficult weeks of isolation for Salvini. Until a few days ago, he was toying with the idea of returning to the Ministry of the Interior. Instead, whether due to a summer that has suddenly become complicated in terms of relations with other European countries over the issue of immigration, that prospect now seems very distant, out of reach. To the extent that the Deputy Prime Minister himself appears to have realised that the conditions are not in place. Not least because Piantedosi’s move to ANAC – as the League had hoped – seems to have fallen through. Moreover, the suspension of the Schengen Agreement with Spain is still on the table. Meanwhile, discussions are continuing between the Italian and German authorities regarding the relocation of three so-called ‘Dublin’ migrants whom Berlin would like to send back to Rome by tomorrow (as recently as yesterday, the German Ministry of the Interior was still sidestepping the issue). In these negotiations, Prime Minister Meloni places her trust in the ‘technical’ work of Matteo Piantedosi (who, not coincidentally, has regained a central role, citing a 34 per cent increase in repatriations over the past year). Not only that: these are decisions to be weighed up on the basis of data such as that collected in the AISE report. And through constant, direct dialogue with the Foreign Ministry led by Tajani (with whom Salvini would certainly find it more difficult to see eye to eye, given the ongoing tensions between the two). Nevertheless, in line with his desire to dominate the political landscape, the Deputy Prime Minister allows himself to use social media for his usual security-related hype. He did so again yesterday by expressing solidarity with a police officer under investigation in Prato: “This is no attempted murder. He did his duty. Solidarity.”

Not to mention, then, the isolation Salvini is facing over the refrain he brought up in the middle of the week of Ferragosto: raising the tax on banks. A smokescreen for Forza Italia. But above all, a solution that would not have been agreed upon with either Meloni or the Minister for the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti. At this rate, he will be the only one left at Pontida.