The most noble of men, Garavaglia: a blank ballot is also standing against Salvini

He is expected to prevail even if he formally loses, but what does he stand to lose? Massimo Garavaglia’s bid for the leadership of the Lega, the most chivalrous of men, is the most romantic of challenges; he is currently gathering signatures (Garavaglia says, giving a thumbs-up: “We’ll make it”). It is romantic because of the battle (it’s the party conferences, my dear!) being waged against him – or rather, as his friends put it, ‘the dirty tricks’, the phone calls urging delegates: ‘If you sign…’. Are you sure that when Zaia speaks, and Giorgetti winks, the delegates won’t pluck up the courage, even if only to leave their ballot papers blank?

Garavaglia’s candidacy began as a bit of fun, but that isn’t entirely true. What is true is that Garavaglia is the brother of Bocconi di Giorgetti, Bossi’s heir who knows everything and who, together with Riccardo Molinari, Zaia and Fedriga (imagine that, on Salvini’s instructions), is trying to draft a motion for the north, to tap into that discontent, to explain to Salvini – just as Attilio Fontana also tried to do – “Look, this isn’t working.” A party that now claims to be national could go to its congress with no fewer than two motions concerning the North. If Salvini had not veered off course, if he had not allowed himself to be drawn into a “punk-fascist” drift—which has crossed the threshold of tolerance (he is now targeting Muslims alongside Anna Maria Cisint, a figure who once campaigned with Angelino Alfano)—Lega members might even have helped him to clean up the party. When Il Foglio published the new constitution that Salvini tore up, the first to realise the mistake and warn him about it was Claudio Durigon, his loyal follower. It is Durigon who has the League’s delegates and the support in central and southern Italy. It is Durigon who holds the senators’ signatures required to force Massimiliano Romeo to resign as Senate group leader and secretary of the Lombardy League (should Salvini prevail at the party congress, Romeo’s removal from office is all but assured).

Garavaglia’s candidacy arose partly out of a sense of fun, but not only that. It came about out of desperation following the books written by Zaia, his proposal for a ‘double Lega’ a year ago in Pontida, and that flame – autonomy – which he has kept alight through a barrage of interviews. It came after those ‘Chinese drops’, Attilio Fontana’s outbursts, and the stammered little phrases which, for a party like the Lega (which has had just three secretaries in its entire history), are worth more than a split. Garavaglia was a minister in the Draghi government, and as soon as anyone in the League reminds him of this – to reproach him – he replies: ‘I am proud to have been part of that government.’ He also says that the League belongs to those who were there when it stood at three per cent. The driving force behind the League’s consistency (and loyalty) lies in the north. The votes for Durigon, for Luca Sammartino, a Sicilian regional councillor, or, to name another prominent figure, MEP Aldo Patriciello (who was in Forza Italia before joining the League) are personal votes, and their fate lies beyond Salvini. They would be at home in any other centre-right party. In truth, this latest iteration of the League is Durigon’s fiefdom. Garavaglia earned the sector’s praise during his time as a minister. He has been forgotten by Salvini, as has Erika Stefani, another competent minister in that government.

Stefano Candiani, who would follow Salvini even through thick and thin, is convinced that Garavaglia’s bid will do more harm than good. Salvini has complimented the ‘most noble of men’, and rightly so: ‘The more people there are at the congress, the better.’ Now it is Salvini who is reaching out to all the people he previously mistreated. That Roberto Marcato, whom Salvini is proposing as mayor of Padua, is the very same Marcato – a former Veneto regional councillor whom Salvini no longer wanted to see and who, in Il Foglio, spoke of the League ‘dying’. In the coming days, articles are likely to spring up with headlines such as ‘Salvini strikes deal with Giorgetti and Zaia’. It already happened in the summer. Crumbs were thrown out to turn the narrative on its head, and Zaia and Fedriga were offered posts, private boxes, offices, steamships… That ill will remains. There are two candidates, but in reality there are three. The third candidate is the blank ballot. The secret ballot allows for something unprecedented within the League. Salvini can win with just a few votes. League MPs say: “We risk holding a congress today and having to hold another one in two months’ time.” The spectre of a split will also resurface – a small northern party (just a few senators are enough to form a faction). Midweek will see the deadline for those wishing to register to speak at the Congress. It is widely viewed as a foregone conclusion. Salvini is compared to AC Milan, while Garavaglia is likened to Como. For the first time, the southern regions will decide the secretary of a party that used to be called the Northern League. Garavaglia has nothing to lose, whereas Salvini has many to repay. He has already won – the one everyone thought was a lost cause.