Salvini is digging in his heels and considering reprisals against the “rebels”

“To be honest, we hope to sort everything out by Pontida. Otherwise…”. It is in this sentence – dropped somewhat casually, into the void, by a senior party official – that the uncertainty and the fumbling progress within the League are encapsulated. Attilio Fontana’s interview has laid bare some discontent but, at the same time, has led Salvini’s loyalists to close ranks around the secretary. For his part, Salvini is sidestepping the confrontation by focusing, as he did yesterday, on “public transport for students”. One plausible scenario is that the League could present a “divided front” at Pontida. Zaia, Fontana and Fedriga could take to the stage on 20 September and call for a party congress. This is why the speeches are still under discussion. Just as there are those who even suggest the secretary might take retaliatory action. Romeo is publishing a ‘dissident’ book. What is certain is that Meloni does not welcome this further instability. Especially given the implications for the Senate.

Yesterday, one of the most ‘outspoken’ statements in the Lega universe came from the President of the Veneto Region, Alberto Stefani, who challenged his northern counterparts (“why didn’t those who are criticising stand for the leadership?”, he told the Corriere) and yet, according to sources close to Fontana, Zaia, Fugatti and Fedriga, “it was known he would come to Salvini’s defence”. This was also due to a dualism (or at the very least a rift) that is now increasingly evident with his predecessor. But an even more impassioned defence of the secretary came from the other Fontana, Lorenzo, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and the fourth-highest-ranking official in the state (“We must show respect for Salvini; he saved a League that was written off. “We win when we’re united,” he told Il Giornale). A sign that a leading figure has been mobilised to try to calm the mood. Seeking, as far as possible, a discussion away from the prying eyes of the press.

As for the rest of the northern contingent, nothing will happen before tomorrow, when Fontana, together with Senate group leader Massimiliano Romeo, will take part in a meeting at the Versiliana entitled “La forza della Lega sono i territori”, during which he is expected to set out the scope of the association project he is working on in greater detail. But it is precisely the nature of this new umbrella organisation that could trigger a series of reactions within the party secretariat. It is true that the Vannacci precedent shows that coexistence within the party is, in theory, accepted. But that very outcome – his departure from the party – suggests it should not be taken too lightly. Furthermore, within Lega circles, attention is being drawn to the alignment between Fontana’s words and the positions of the ‘Patto per il Nord’ movement, led by Paolo Grimoldi, Bossi’s last spokesperson and, in effect, the most prominent figure recently expelled from the Carroccio. In other words: purges are not such an outlandish scenario. Even if it is all still particularly premature. That said, Zaia is, for the time being, continuing to monitor the situation with no desire to intervene directly. However, he will inevitably have to do so once the excuse of the summer holidays no longer holds water. For this reason, he might even go so far as to call for a party congress from the stage at Pontida. This is why the decision on who will take the floor (apart, of course, from the secretary, who will bring the event to a close on the main lawn) is being postponed once again.

In the last few hours, the Vice-President of the Senate, Gian Marco Centinaio, has also urged people to “wash their dirty laundry at home. The debate in the newspapers serves no purpose”. And the widespread calls to restore calm have also led Romeo – who has published a book with a particularly timely title, "Fare la Lega, agenda per il rinnovamento" – to play down the idea of replacing Salvini’s leadership: “I’m interested in revitalising the movement, not in challenges.” Whilst not failing to reiterate the underlying message of Fontana’s statement: “There is a desire for the League to return to addressing certain issues that have, to some extent, characterised the League’s history, whilst seeking to bring them up to date. We remain a national League – no one wants to call this into question – but we want to strengthen regional identities, which are the League’s strength. In this book, I try to convey this desire, this will to renew.” And then again: “We’ve become too middle-class. The League must act like the League, returning to the spirit of Bossi”. Former MP for Bergamo, Daniele Belotti – a man who practically grew up in Pontida – puts it in these terms: “President Fontana has said something right and worthy of support. I am calling for a serious analysis, and I have no problem saying that the federal secretary needs to be replaced. I told Salvini this to his face”.

The fact is that the concerns expressed by the League in the second half of the summer do not sit well with Giorgia Meloni. And the reason is simple: when Parliament resumes, many issues – starting with the electoral law, but also the security and immigration packages – will be dealt with in the Senate. That is, the chamber where the League’s most northern and federalist supporters are based. The Prime Minister, however, following the ‘preference prank’ in the Chamber of Deputies in mid-July, does not seem willing to tolerate any settling of scores in committee or on the floor of the House. For this reason, whilst maintaining the utmost respect for internal debate within an allied party, she hopes the situation will blow over. Without any further Vannacci-style episodes.