The Lega is heading towards an extraordinary congress. It could take place on 24–25 October in Milan.

The Lega’s extraordinary congress could take place in less than a month. “This morning, the Lega’s Statute and Regulations Committee, chaired by organisational head Maurizio Bosatra, concluded its work to finalise the draft regulations for the extraordinary congress requested by Secretary Matteo Salvini from the stage at Pontida 2026. The Committee reached a unanimous agreement on the regulations, on the dates of 24–25 October, and on Milan as the venue for the Congress,” said Roberto Calderoli, the League’s Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies. The proposal will now be submitted to the Federal Council for approval. 

The idea had been launched unexpectedly by Salvini from the stage at Pontida on 20 September. “I am returning to the congress to ask whether I have the trust of my family, and I will put it to a show of hands; I am prepared to give my life for my children and for you,” said the Carroccio leader, adding that “the first dissenting voice will not harm me, but will damage the voice of activists across Italy; and then that person will have to explain – not to me, but to you – why they continue to hand out favours to the Left”. This was a move to challenge the party’s “northerners” and an attempt to break free from the stranglehold they have had on him for months. Among them is the Senate group leader and secretary of the Lega in Lombardy, Massimiliano Romeo. “I think the party congress could be the right moment to set the record straight, beyond what may be seen as an internal manoeuvre to outmanoeuvre the so-called ‘northerners’,” he commented on 21 September on Rai Radio1’s ‘Zapping’ programme, whilst emphasising, however, that “amongst some Lombard members of the party – people who have been members for thirty years – there is a growing sense of discontent following the secretary’s statements yesterday; some believe the congress will be a farce because, they say, the vote will be cast by the very same delegates who attended the congress held less than a year ago in Florence, full of ‘sycophants and Bourbon loyalists’.”

In recent days, however, the tone has become more acrimonious. “Matteo Salvini can organise the Lega’s extraordinary congress all by himself. It’s a massive trap. I’m not falling for it,” Romeo stated in an interview with the Corriere della Sera. “Attilio Fontana, myself and everyone else,” he added, “are acting solely and exclusively for the good of the League and, believe it or not, for Salvini’s own good as well. The party is in freefall. The trend is frightening. “We’re in trouble,” he added, “and we mustn’t deny it. In Varese, Bergamo, Brescia, Monza and Brianza, in Valtellina, but also in Liguria and Piedmont, there is a strong and widespread sense of discontent.” “We say,” the senator continued, “that Salvini can remain secretary, but let’s set up a sort of ‘electoral committee’ – a team with real powers – to urgently realign the party’s political course. We must no longer chase Vannacci on his own turf. We must return to being the Lega, reclaiming our identity. We must go back to talking about taxation, bureaucracy and federalism. We must be the voice of the regions, promoting them. And then, above all, we must rediscover the old Lega spirit, which put the community before personal ambitions.”