Salvini works on the relaunch of the League, the hypothesis of Zaia as deputy secretary
Roles and revitalisation could begin to be discussed at the federal council meeting scheduled for Wednesday. But the confrontation promises not to be quick. Although the new course could get underway at the early July meeting in Treviso
Key points
What is certain is that one cannot stand still. Faced with the drop in the polls and the slow haemorrhaging of deputies in favour of General Vannacci (the last two, after Laura Ravetto, are Domenico Furgiuele and Gianangelo Bof), the Lega League's secretary Matteo Salvini is clear that to avoid decline, the party needs to be relaunched. For this it is necessary to strengthen the team and define three-four programme objectives to be achieved by the end of the legislature.
On the team front, the Carroccio secretary officially defines as 'groundless' the journalistic reconstructions that describe Luca Zaia as the League's deputy secretary in pectore. However, many in the Carroccio speak of an 'evolving situation' and 'work in progress'. And it is clear that the road to relaunching the party passes through a greater involvement of Zaia himself, champion of preferences (203,000) at the last regional elections in Veneto (as well as governors such as Massimiliano Fedriga).
The Zaia deputy secretary hypothesis
Among the hypotheses on the table would be that of resetting the deputy secretaries to zero, which would lead to a new team with two cornerstones: the confirmation of Claudio Durigon to continue to invest in the South and the involvement of Zaia and Fedriga to drive the North. Or that of appointing Zaia as sole deputy, resetting the other appointments (Claudio Durigon, Alberto Stefani and Silvia Sardone). Roles and revitalisation could begin to be discussed at the meeting of the federal council scheduled for Wednesday. But the confrontation promises not to be quick. Even if the new course could kick off at the b>Treviso meeting scheduled for the beginning of July. A 'reunion behind closed doors' wanted by Salvini to close ranks: bigwigs, governors and regional representatives are expected.
The federal party model
In any case, Zaia does not seem interested in mere posts. He asks for a 'project'. And he would not accept being a deputy without real powers. With the prospect of a greater commitment in the party ranks, Zaia would once again put on the table the idea dear to him of a 'federal' type of interma organisation, with respect to which Salvini has so far been sceptical. The model remains that of the Bavarian Csu, a local branch of the German Cdu party. A project (to realise which would require an amendment to the statute) designed to cultivate an even stronger bond with the territory.
Political change of pace, focus on VAT numbers and territory
However, this must be coupled with a contextual change of pace that is also political: a League that returns to the North, that abandons issues such as the remigration relaunched by Vannacci's 'futurists' to devote itself to VAT numbers and the territory, rediscovering harmony with the productive world of small and medium-sized enterprises. It is no coincidence that the president of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, called Zaia's 'commitment to the North' 'certainly an excellent idea'. Zaia, an advocate of a liberal right-wing attentive to civil rights (starting with the end of life), has always been against the union with General Vannacci, who has brought to fruition Salvini's national and sovereignist turn (which has also retained the formal objective of a national unity recomposed in the mosaic of 'differentiated autonomies')
