With Le Pen’s right wing or the PPE moderates? The torments of the League: discussion opens in the Federal Council

Stay with Marine Le Pen, in the Identity and Democracy group, where there are also ‘uncomfortable’ allies such as Alternative fur Deutschland. Or getting closer to the European Populars trying to get out of isolation in Strasbourg. A little over a year after the European Championships, the League has begun to question its future in Europe.

After about three hours of debate during the Federal Council, convened by Matthew Salvini at 11am, no decision had been made and the secretary adjourned the meeting to May 29th. Discussions on current issues, government activity, upcoming administrations and regional congresses that should be held starting in June, did not however help to untie the knot on the party’s European position in view of next year’s European elections. On the subject, the debate is heated and divergent positions are recorded among the Northern League, while Matthew Salvini he did not express his opinion and decided to convene the federal again later this month.

After the premises of the head of delegation in Strasbourg Mark Campomenosi and of the group leader a Marco Zanniwho explained the situation, intervened Lorenzo Fontana. The Speaker of the Chamber, who is still in charge of the party’s Foreign Affairs, ‘mind’ and hand of Matteo Salvini’s sovereign turn (starting from 2013), would have said he was in favor of maintaining the status quo. Fontana – it is reported by those who attended the meeting – as reported by the AGI, would have argued that a movement “to the right” of the European electorate is underway and that the League would like to remain in the Identity and Democracy group, where they sit, among others, the historic allies of Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement national.

But the position is not shared by everyone. “We cannot think of being a governing party in Italy as we are allies of German extremists in Europe”, is the prevailing objection raised by those who do not agree with Fontana’s proposal. The reference is to the German far-right party, Alternative fur Deutschland, which sits in ID with the Northern League.

“First you wanted to enter the Draghi government, then, with the victory of the center-right, we confirmed ourselves as the governing party. The natural outcome is to try to enter the majority in Strasbourg too, getting closer to the European Populars”, the group leader would have objected to the Room, Richard Molinari. The ministers are of the same opinion as Molinari Giancarlo Giorgetti e Robert Calderolimany regional coordinators and the Lombard governor Attilio Fontana (absent the Venetian Luca Zaia). While they have shown themselves closer to the positions of Fontana, the group leader in the Senate Maximilian Romeo and the MEP Annalisa Tardino.

With the Brothers of Italy moving closer to the EPP, the issue is decisive in view of the forthcoming Europeans. The League, which elected 29 MEPs with the boom of the 2019 European elections, but was marginalized due to its membership of the Eurosceptic group, could risk a new isolation if the Conservatives, led by Giorgia Meloni and the Polish Pis, allied themselves with the Popolari (to which Forza Italia adheres) in view of the 2024 vote. However, it needs to be verified whether the leaders of the Popolari would be willing to make an alliance with the Northern League in Europe. Until now, the signals received from the EPP have always been negative.

Other sources report that there have been no definitive positions taken by Northern League executives. The variables have been illustrated and the consequences of certain choices have been taken into consideration. Even Fontana’s intervention is defined as rather interlocutory. The president would have confined himself to observing how it could be difficult to explain to the electorate a change of line in Europe. But Fontana’s perplexities regarding the current composition of the ID group in the League have been known for years.

In favor of a possible entry into the Ppe, however, Molinari and the deputy secretary in particular would have expressed themselves Andrew Crippa. Calderoli would have asked to postpone the decision until after the vote. While Giorgetti would have insisted in particular on the fact that it is necessary to distance oneself from some parties, such as the AfD.