Pontida, Salvini’s move: an extraordinary party conference in October to avoid being worn down and to challenge the northern bloc

Bergamo Prato di Pontida raduno Leghista Militanti 20 settembre 2026 Bg Italia Foto Tiziano Manzoni Lapresse

Last year’s Florence congress (in April 2025) had elected Salvini as secretary until 2029. Much will now depend on the arrangements for the extraordinary meeting, which will be decided by the Federal Council on Monday. Within the northern wing, there are those who are sceptical. For now, they are referring to it as a ‘publicity stunt’. It will be crucial to ascertain whether this will be an elective or a policy-setting congress. In other words, whether Salvini will stand down and whether an alternative candidate to him will be possible. Or whether the October congress will serve merely to endorse or reject the secretary’s line, as Salvini suggests from the podium when he says: ‘the first dissenting voice will have to explain to the party members why they continue to play into the hands of the left’.

Bergamo Prato di Pontida raduno Leghista Militanti 20 settembre 2026 Bg Italia Foto Tiziano Manzoni Lapresse

No one expected this move, which has caught the Northern faction off guard. Among the dissidents, there had never been a specific call for a party congress. And it is no coincidence, as some of them reveal off the record. Should an elective party conference go ahead, the leader knows he has a very large pool of ‘his own’ delegates at his disposal, meaning any alternative candidate would find it a tough ride.

“I think the secretary wants to use the congress to foster discussion and a path of growth for the movement. It shows that we are a vibrant party, a party that wants to look to the future by offering the country a political programme of renewal,” comments the president of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga, diplomatically. “It’s a good opportunity to exchange views,” echoed the group leader and secretary of the Lega in Lombardy, Massimiliano Romeo, one of the most vocal critics of Salvini’s line. When asked whether an alternative secretary would be put forward at the congress, Romeo replied: “I don’t know; first we’ll look at the procedures, and then these are all assessments we’ll make together over the coming days, certainly in due course.” He adds a final point: calling the congress is a “sign that there is a need to revitalise the party and regain the trust of the electorate”.

“Salvini’s decision shows courage and responsibility. The League will emerge from this even stronger and more united,” comments the President of Veneto, Alberto Stefani (who is close to the party secretary, unlike the other League governors). “This could be an opportunity to establish a political line to take us straight through to the elections. And without continuing to waste time on discussions that alienate voters,” remarks the party’s leader in the Chamber of Deputies, Riccardo Molinari. Minister Roberto Calderoli also welcomes the idea of the congress, reiterating his belief “in a united League under Salvini’s leadership but with representatives from the macro-regions of the North, the Centre, the South and perhaps even one from the Islands”.

foto Mario Romano/IPP Pontida (Bg) 20/09/2026 Raduno della Lega a Pontida nella foto leghisti espongono cartelli in sostegno di Matteo Salvini Italy Photo Press - World Copyright Politica Raduno della Lega a Pontida

The event begins with a tribute to Umberto Bossi (a video featuring the party founder’s most famous quotes) and the ‘Va’ Pensiero’. Gone are the days when, in 2017, the ‘Senatur’ – who was critical of Salvini’s line – was denied a platform. Applause breaks out repeatedly across the ‘sacred lawn’, accompanied by chants of ‘Bossi, Bossi’. The ‘sacred lawn’ is named after the founder of the Lega, with a plaque unveiled by Salvini in honour of ‘the man who first gave a voice to his people and pride to his land’. Salvini, addressing the northern faction, describes Bossi as a “courageous visionary who restored dignity to a people”, but grants no further concessions.

The Salvini supporters’ belief, moreover, is that the attitude of northerners is ‘what is preventing the League from climbing back up the polls’. Because ‘we now have proposals on the table that can reignite enthusiasm amongst our supporters: Quota 64, the law on revoking citizenship, the fight against Islamisation, and the push for security’. All issues highlighted by the secretary in his speech at Pontida. And yet, the loyalists complain, ‘if there is a counter-voice from within the party every time, it becomes impossible to reverse the trend’. So, ‘enough of this self-sabotage, enough of hurting ourselves. And enough of the dead weight that is holding us back’. All the more so as the governors from the North, whilst conciliatory in their speeches, are not giving up on their objectives. From the stage, the call for a ‘federal’ League—divided into three parts representing the North, Centre and South—is, in fact, coming from everyone. A call that is ‘constructive for revitalising the party’.

(L) Luca Zaia, Attilio Fontana, Maurizio Fugatti, Massiliano Fedriga during the traditional Lega party rally in Pontida (Bergamo), 20 september 2026. ANSA/MICHELE MARAVIGLIA

The President of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, makes no mention in his speech of Salvini, whom he had asked in recent weeks to consider stepping aside. He pays tribute to Bossi, who ‘taught us everything’. And he goes on to say: ‘When I hear centralist rhetoric, I won’t keep quiet; I was born a federalist and I want federalism.’ He then emphasised that the aim is also ‘a party organised around demands that come from the grassroots’, because ‘we want to give our regions a voice again; we are doing this in Lombardy and also within our movement’.

Former Regional Governor Luca Zaia reiterates the importance of the ‘Northern Question’. “I remain of the view that the relevant territories should be those of the North, within a project of national unity. The demands of the North must be heeded. Just as there is a ‘southern question’, it is equally true that there is a ‘northern question’,” he declares. But when asked who will be the League’s new secretary, on the sidelines of the Pontida rally, ahead of the announcement of the extraordinary congress, Zaia replies that ‘there is already a secretary; that seems obvious to me’. He then adds: “I remain convinced that we are neither right-wing nor left-wing, and that our struggles are the epoch-defining battles begun by Umberto Bossi. The League was founded as a liberal party, not an anti-liberal one.”

The governor of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga, also maintains that ‘what sets the League apart is its ability to respond to specific local needs, with the aim of moving forward together whilst providing the tailored solutions that a particular region requires; this is our strength’. Meanwhile, the president of the Autonomous Province of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, emphasises: “We need a federal structure within the League.”

Massimiliano Romeo, secretary of the Lega Lombarda – one of the most vocal critics of Salvini’s line and rumoured to be stepping down as Senate group leader – has come under fire, before being ‘sheltered’ two days ago by deputy secretary Claudio Durigon. “Romeo, Romeo” chants a group in the middle of the field, sending up a green cloud of smoke bombs. “Matteo, Matteo”, rthey reply even louder from the front rows, where numerous placards reaffirm their support for Salvini. It’s a contest to see who can shout the loudest that’s playing out. A rivalry that is also reflected in the supporters’ clothing, between those wearing blue pro-Salvini T-shirts and those wearing green ones bearing the slogan ‘Northern League until death’.

Yet Romeo’s message is a call for ‘unity’, in the spirit of the founder Umberto Bossi, to whom he asks that tribute be paid. “We do not want a divided League or multiple leagues, but a single, united League within a confederation comprising the north, centre and south,” reiterates the leader of the Lega Lombarda. He adds: “Federalism does not divide but unites; this has been our mantra for years: a single League that knows how to promote the regions.”

The Minister for the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, also takes to the stage to remind the audience that ‘we are in Pontida for federalism’. And, extending a hand to the dissenting ‘northerners’ – whom Salvini’s hardliners label ‘traitors’ – he warns: ‘The enemies are not within the League but outside it’.

Roberto Calderoli is the one calling on everyone to examine their consciences: ‘In 2012, at the League’s most difficult moment, Bossi said, ‘Rather than split the League, I’ll step aside’, and so did the man who created that League,” recalls the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomies, who presses on: “I believe that today, as leaders, we need to examine our consciences.” Hence the question: “Starting with myself, our secretary Salvini, the governors and all the regional secretaries, are we prepared to do this? To say that the League comes first and the men and women second? Yes? I am convinced we are.” Finally, the warning: “Those who stab their brothers in the back should go elsewhere, because there’s no place for them here.” And the final dig: “There’s no point in applauding Bossi here; yesterday afternoon (when an olive tree was planted in his memory, ed.) there were just the four of us there: myself, Leoni, Garavaglia and the former mayor” to commemorate him.

Riccardo Molinari, the party’s leader in the Chamber of Deputies, was extremely harsh towards General Vannacci, attacking him: ‘The League is the only anti-establishment and revolutionary party. The establishment wants you to believe that the revolutionary is a man who has sullied this platform and then betrayed us, a man whose manifesto seems to have been written in a Munich pub in the 1920s and which reminds us of the twenty years of Fascist rule, who talks about abolishing abortion, Mediterranean patriarchy and other such rubbish. Its sole aim is to ensure the centre-right loses and to bring the left back into government.”