League in two-day retreat with Salvini on 19-20 June. Zaia and Giorgetti forfeit

All summoned. Ministers and governors, but also parliamentarians, leaders. A two-day 'retreat' wanted by Lega Nord secretary Matteo Salvini on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June (the location has yet to be defined), to 'fine-tune proposals and programmes'. The formalisation of the 'two-day meeting' arrived in the chat of deputies and senators, who were asked to keep themselves free for both days.

But in the chat of the Lega Nord executive, the first major defection has already arrived, that of Luca Zaia: 'I already have a commitment,' let the former Veneto governor know. He himself, who has long been calling for more attention not only on the northern question but also on the issues of a liberal right, will not be there. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti is also expected to drop out due to a previous commitment

Not the best viaticum for Salvini, who is thus trying to relaunch and motivate the party, squeezed between Roberto Vannacci's pressure and the government's difficulties, by resorting to a format already used in the past by the League. The first to launch the recall was Roberto Maroni, then governor of Lombardy. A method taken up by Massimiliano Romeo, who as secretary of the Lombardy League gathered the local party in a farmhouse to finalise proposals for the Pontida rally. Now it is Salvini's turn, but he has not yet chosen the venue: 'It is still being defined, we will let you know all the organisational details as soon as possible,' reads the convocation on chat.

The dates chosen are not random. In fact, they have a precise political significance. The Lega Nord rally comes just a few days before the official baptism of Futuro nazionale, with the convocation of the constituent assembly on 13 and 14 June at the Audiorium della Conciliazione in Rome. The general is counting on growing polls of around 4% and on new entries into the party, most recently that of the League's former head of equal opportunities, Laura Ravetto. Rumours suggest that further arrivals are likely.

While waiting, the author of "The World to the Contrary" has given his first indications to his people, putting in black and white, in the regulations prepared for the assembly, that what he has in mind is a strongly centralised party (which currently has over 50,000 members), moulded around the figure of the leader, with guarantee bodies appointed from above, delegates chosen from the top, and interventions subject to prior scrutiny by the leaders. 'Principles, clear values and clear leadership, whoever enters must totally adhere to what we are', warned Vannacci in an interview in La Stampa, because 'when everyone decides in the parties, often no one decides'.  More than a party that elects its leader, there is the imprint of a leader who organises his party.