Garavaglia: who is the former Bocconi-educated minister challenging Salvini at the party conference?
First elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2006 following Umberto Bossi’s resignation (to retain his seat as a Member of the European Parliament), Garavaglia – a long-serving senator – served as Under-Secretary and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in the first Conte government and as Minister for Tourism in the Draghi government.
Key points
The die is cast. There will be a surprise candidate at the League’s extraordinary congress, convened by the outgoing secretary Matteo Salvini to bring to a close a summer of internal controversy over the party’s direction. Challenging the League leader and acting as spokesperson for the dissidents will be Massimo Garavaglia, a long-serving League senator, former Minister for Tourism and Chair of the Finance and Treasury Committee in the Senate, who has always been close to Attilio Fontana and Giancarlo Giorgetti.
A seat in the Chamber of Deputies thanks to Bossi’s withdrawal
Born in 1968, originally from Cuggiono, in the province of Milan, Garavaglia, who holds a degree in Economics and Business with a specialisation in Corporate Finance from Bocconi University, is a business consultant by profession and has a long political career behind him, having started out as mayor of the municipality of Marcallo con Casone in 1999. He was first elected to Parliament in 2006. Standing as the fourth candidate on the Northern League’s list for the Lombardy 1 constituency, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies following Umberto Bossi’s decision to step down in order to retain his seat as a Member of the European Parliament.
Councillor for the Budget in Lombardy in the Maroni administration
He was elected to the Senate in the 2008 snap general election. During that parliamentary term, he served as vice-chairman of the Budget Committee. In December 2011, he was appointed chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Northern Parliament, established by Umberto Bossi. Re-elected to the Senate in February 2013, he was appointed the following month as Councillor for the Budget by the newly elected President of the Lombardy Regional Government, Roberto Maroni. This led to his resignation from the Senate.
Government experience
But Garavaglia also has experience at Palazzo Chigi, having served as Minister for Tourism in the Draghi government and, prior to that, as Under-Secretary and Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in the first Conte government.
Chair of a Senate committee
A senator in the 19th Parliament as well, he serves as Chair of the Finance and Treasury Committee and as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Regional Affairs.
