The League is at a standstill; the prospect of Salvini taking over the Home Office is not gaining traction, and Zaia is calling for a genuine change of direction

The meeting is scheduled for the next Federal Council meeting. It will likely take place on Wednesday 17 June. It is there that Matteo Salvini is expected to lay his cards on the table and unveil the new team that will support him in his bid to revitalise the League. For the secretary the investigation into Elisabetta Pellegrini, coordinator of the Ministry of Transport’s technical mission unit and his right-hand woman at the MIT, is merely the latest headache. The party’s falling support must be stemmed to the benefit of Futuro Nazionale of Roberto Vannacci. Since leaving the Carroccio and founding his own party, the general has seen his popularity rise steadily.

The problem is that Salvini’s strategy, which relies on greater involvement from the former Doge Luca Zai and the governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia Massimiliano Fedriga – to whom he has offered the post of deputy secretary – has stalled. Zaia and Fedriga are unwilling to take on roles without any real power to make a difference. Zaia, in particular, is not willing to accept the appointment as deputy secretary without a reorganisation of the party on a federal basis, which would allow the concerns of the North to be better represented. This would be accompanied by a party conference to ratify the change to the party constitution, establishing a ‘northern’ wing with broad autonomy over resource management, regional policies (environment, business, youth) and the selection of candidates, on German model of the CDU-CSU.

This was the direction taken by the draft constitution drawn up by Roberto Calderoli, which referred to a “Northern macro-region”. However, Salvini considered the draft too one-sided, so he put a stop to it and had it shelved, for the time being. The fear is that his powers as secretary will be stripped away and that he will effectively be placed under administration, with the national League retaining control over cross-cutting issues such as security, taxation and immigration. And little else. Although the President of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana on Zapping, on Rai Radio1, ruled out the risk of a dual leadership between Salvini and Zaia (praised as “a well-regarded person who loves the region”) because “I see different areas of expertise, different roles: one who deals more with the region and one who brings everything together at national level'.

The fact is that Lega MPs and senators from the south do not like the CSU-CDU model. Their fear is that they will become the Carroccio’s black sheep. All the more reason for Salvini to avoid a change of direction and party constitution. The problem is that one cannot stand still. Zaia and Fedriga cannot be appointed as deputies without real concessions. Nor does the pressure from the party leadership to bring Salvini back to the Home Office and restore the party’s lustre (‘the government is doing a lot on security and Piantedosi is doing a good job, but we need a politician who can explain the results achieved and make a bigger impact’ as many have said, starting with Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and Senate group leader Massimiliano Romeo) seems unlikely to yield immediate results. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is not open to a reshuffle, at least until September, when the government will reach the milestone of becoming the longest-serving executive in the history of the Republic.

With the situation at a standstill, the League’s deputy secretary Claudio Durigon is working on a mediation effort. Appearing as a guest on Start on Sky TG24, he too says he is convinced that Salvini’s return to the Interior Ministry would have a positive impact on the Carroccio’s popularity because ‘if we let the centre-forward play as a centre-forward, it is easier for him to score, given that he was born a centre-forward’. But what is particularly striking is that Durigon, the man to whom Salvini has entrusted his strategy for the League’s expansion and establishment in central and southern Italy, is not closing the door on Zaia, whom he describes as “a great person who can provide strong answers”. Hence the comment: “I believe that, objectively speaking, Salvini will find the best path for everyone”.