Salvini snubs Vannacci: we’ll go to the polls with this alliance

“We will go into the general election with this alliance,” said Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, secretary of the Lega, in an interview on stage at the Lega youth event ‘Nexus 2026’, currently taking place in Milano Marittima. Responding to a question about a possible expansion of the coalition to include Futuro Nazionale – the political project founded by Roberto Vannacci – he added: “As things stand, clearly not. But as for him: he voted against the confidence motion for this government; he voted against the housing plan. If he considers us failures now, I don’t think he’ll change his mind in a year’s time.” On Vannacci’s departure from the League, the party that had helped him get elected as an MEP, Salvini added: “I bear no grudge. The disappointment – more personal than political – lasts a few hours, then you turn the page,” but he pointed out that he had not heard from the former general since: “No, no, you can fool me once, but you won’t fool me twice.”

‘I have been elected for decades on the basis of preferential votes, both on the City Council and in Brussels,’ but ‘my only doubt and concern – and I am impartial on this – is that, at such a historic moment, we are running an election campaign that allows only millionaires to stand out and win votes.’ So said the leader of the Lega, Matteo Salvini, during an interview. “If you don’t have millions to spend, you’re at a greater disadvantage than those with a full wallet,” he added. Shortly before, he had explained that he preferred “a model whereby whoever wins does so at the ballot box, not through backroom deals”.

“And I am convinced that, before even considering Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, we must focus on peoples who are, culturally and economically, closer to us. Because I do not believe that Kyiv is currently in a position to lecture anyone in the world on democracy.” This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, secretary of the Lega, during an interview on stage at the Lega youth event ‘Nexus 2026’, currently taking place in Milano Marittima.

‘The League has its own ideas, which sometimes win over the whole Government, but at other times it has to accept that, within the majority, the ideas of others prevail in terms of numbers and scale. Take sanctions, for example. I believe the twenty-first package of sanctions against Russia has been renewed. It won’t resolve the conflict, will it? Because we’ll end up with the 42nd package of sanctions against Russia. We’re hurting our own businesses, so I remain convinced that it is diplomacy that must put an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.” This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, secretary of the Lega, during an interview on stage at the Lega youth event ‘Nexus 2026’, currently taking place in Milano Marittima. Responding to a question about the League’s opposition to supporting Kyiv, including through military supplies, Salvini replied diplomatically: “As I make decisions as part of a team, I respect and carry out whatever the Government decides.”

‘I like to see things through to the end, and we need to complete all the construction projects. But if we win the election, then yes”: this was how Matteo Salvini, Minister for Transport and Deputy Prime Minister, responded on stage at the Lega Giovani Nexus 2026 event in Milano Marittima when asked if he would like to return to the post of Minister of the Interior. “As for me,” he added, “from tomorrow morning I will be at the disposal of my government and of a Prime Minister whom I respect and trust.”