Meloni slams Salvini as “the ungrateful one”, Tajani doubles down on Kyiv

When he backs Bolsonaro, he causes him to lose, and when he promises ‘no more weapons for Ukraine’, he gives Tajani a reason to send them. Salvini is a pipe, just like Magritte’s. On Sunday he announces the Papeete in Kyiv, but on Monday he’s back in the office at Chigi for a summit, and tells Meloni: ‘You know, that was just Congress-style rhetoric’ – he was only joking. It is the swiftest (non-)government crisis, akin to the pipe that is not a pipe—except that within the League, it is MP Simonetta Matone who is effectively smoking it away, switching to Forza Italia through Gianni Letta’s mediation. Salvini recounts how Meloni took his words at the League Congress: “She’s really got under my skin.” Meloni’s real problems are him, Trump and Netanyahu. As for Trump, the mid-term elections are coming up; Netanyahu may well be sent packing by Israeli voters, and it is Meloni who is telling her own people: “He’s now indefensible.” That leaves Salvini, but it’s pure surrealism.

Who stands to gain from the Salvini–Tajani row, with Tajani now wanting to speed up the Ukraine decree – the arms package, which has been ready and on hold for almost a year – to the extent that Tajani has said: “We will send them to Kyiv as soon as possible”? Meloni comes across as reliable, as a peacemaker, whilst her allies are seen as subordinates squabbling over the spoils – namely, the losing bid: the mayoral candidacy for Milan. One can announce a government crisis – “in the Council of Ministers I’ll say ‘no more arms for Ukraine’” – and then write, as Salvini did yesterday, and as he has been trying to explain to Meloni for hours: “You know, I had to rally my base”, “I’ll be loyal”? In addition to being annoyed at having raised a forgotten issue—that arms decree which must pass through COPASIR and has been stalled for almost a year—Meloni is irritated by her ally’s “ingratitude”. Sources within FdI say that if Salvini has managed to hold his ground so far, it is thanks to Meloni’s generosity. If Salvini managed to win the Lega congress, it is also down to FdI, which shut the door on the band of Lega members who, before knocking on Vannacci’s door, had knocked on FdI’s door, only to receive no response.

When Salvini states that “the League will not be a second-class ally”, he overlooks the favours he received from Meloni. Who was preventing her from backing Zaia or Fedriga, and who was stopping her from laying claim to Veneto immediately, rather than leaving it to Alberto Stefani, at the most difficult time for Salvini? The ones who are truly thin-skinned are not the journalists, whom Salvini insults, but FdI. One could write for two days running that Salvini loses even when he wins. In fact, he has lost MP Simonetta Matone, who has defected to Tajani – poor Tonio. He has lost her, and she was one of the MPs who had campaigned hardest in the referendum on justice. Salvini has sidelined her in favour of Giulia Bongiorno (who, incidentally, suggested he make way for the new blood – namely the Zaia and Fedriga clans). At the Lega Congress, the security motion was tabled, signed by Bongiorno and Jacopo Morrone. What was left for Matone? She could have stood as a candidate for mayor of Rome, but Salvini is too busy snatching the Milan candidacy from Tajani for Silvia Sardone. Add to that the fact that within the Lega it is already known that ‘only one seat will be up for grabs in Rome’. And it is not destined for Matone.

To steal the limelight from Perego, the Defence Undersecretary from Forza Italia who wanted the Folgore paratroopers in Milan, Salvini spent the entire weekend chasing after police officers and asking for selfies, just like the influencer and troublemaker Gianfredi. Milan is a city the right is unlikely to win, but Salvini is only interested in souring relations with Tajani. The last card he might pull out of his wardrobe of ageing sweatshirts is to propose Letizia Moratti, of Forza Italia, to thwart Perego. In his frenzy to send out signals, he hasn’t even realised that the new ‘Lega Italia Federale’ logo hasn’t been approved by the Congress. This means he’s only half-burying the ‘Salvini as Prime Minister’ slogan. The story of Zaia, who is set to be drawn into this surrealist leadership, deserves a future article entitled: ‘La fronda dei ragazzotti’ – all the forty-somethings in the League who are urging Salvini to clean up the party: ‘Don’t surround yourself with traitors’.

The Council of Ministers meeting on the budget is not yet confirmed, and Meloni’s entire team is focused on making security a priority. An internal memo from the FdI research department has been circulated, claiming credit for this Saturday’s truce under the headline: ‘17 October: the Meloni government’s approach that averted disaster on the 24th’. The memo reviews the five security decrees passed by the government and takes opposition MPs to task because “it is extremely serious that politicians and representatives of the institutions should offer support or assistance to those who have laid waste to our cities”. According to Il Foglio, Salvini’s recent actions appear to be driven by the prospect of early elections, although he has not yet recognised that the Constitutional Court, not he, sets the legislative rhythm. Meloni’s timeline is contingent upon the Court’s schedule: if its ruling is issued after the end of February, there would be insufficient time to amend the law. Another month is needed, and the window for an April vote will be missed. If the election takes place at the end of the parliamentary term, Salvini will still claim, “It’s a victory for the League.” Another pipe dream: “Ceci n’est pas un allié.”