Matteo Salvini, head of the Euro-sceptic Northern League, is scoring high in the polls
Italy has a rising star: Matteo Salvini, head of the Eurosceptic Northern League, is scoring high in the polls as he bids to fill the political vacuum on the right left by Silvio Berlusconi.
As the country's 39-year old Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) battle to comply with European budget rules, Salvini, 41, is wooing recession-weary voters on an anti-immigration, anti-euro and overtly anti-Muslim platform.
"We want to have the majority in Italy. We are preparing for the future," the media-friendly former journalist said in a recent interview.
Giovanni Orsina, a professor of political science at the Luiss University in Rome, said Salvini is on track to emerge as a major player in the country's political landscape.
"He has the political space to do it," Orsina said, arguing that the Northern League is well-placed to surf a Europe-wide trend reflected most notably in the advances of Marine Le Pen's National Front in France.
Salvini is a self-confessed fan of Le Pen, who has softened the hard-right image of her party and broadened its appeal as voters across Europe have turned to populist parties in a backlash against Brussels and the economic gloom engulfing much of the eurozone.
Meanwhile, former premier Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party is lagging seriously in the polls, but the media magnate has failed to find a credible successor.
"Silvio Berlusconi is in a very fragile position and he is an old leader, nearly 80 years old, compared to the young Salvini," Orsini said.
Salvini's aim is to extend the League's influence and appeal from the wealthy north of the country to the much poorer south, from where media tycoon Berlusconi traditionally drew much of his support.
He wants the party's "charter of values" to form the basis of a new movement which would appeal to all those who feel left behind by Renzi's reform drive or betrayed by his willingness to negotiate with Brussels over the country's debt burden.
'Decisive no to Europe'
According to Salvini, the values of his party include saying "no to immigration, no to mosques and yes to a drastic reduction in taxes."
He also advocates a "decisive no" to what he sees as the left-wing European Union.
"We have to take back our national sovereignty and currency," he said.
As the country's 39-year old Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his centre-left Democratic Party (PD) battle to comply with European budget rules, Salvini, 41, is wooing recession-weary voters on an anti-immigration, anti-euro and overtly anti-Muslim platform.
"We want to have the majority in Italy. We are preparing for the future," the media-friendly former journalist said in a recent interview.
Giovanni Orsina, a professor of political science at the Luiss University in Rome, said Salvini is on track to emerge as a major player in the country's political landscape.
"He has the political space to do it," Orsina said, arguing that the Northern League is well-placed to surf a Europe-wide trend reflected most notably in the advances of Marine Le Pen's National Front in France.
Salvini is a self-confessed fan of Le Pen, who has softened the hard-right image of her party and broadened its appeal as voters across Europe have turned to populist parties in a backlash against Brussels and the economic gloom engulfing much of the eurozone.
Meanwhile, former premier Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party is lagging seriously in the polls, but the media magnate has failed to find a credible successor.
"Silvio Berlusconi is in a very fragile position and he is an old leader, nearly 80 years old, compared to the young Salvini," Orsini said.
Salvini's aim is to extend the League's influence and appeal from the wealthy north of the country to the much poorer south, from where media tycoon Berlusconi traditionally drew much of his support.
He wants the party's "charter of values" to form the basis of a new movement which would appeal to all those who feel left behind by Renzi's reform drive or betrayed by his willingness to negotiate with Brussels over the country's debt burden.
'Decisive no to Europe'
According to Salvini, the values of his party include saying "no to immigration, no to mosques and yes to a drastic reduction in taxes."
He also advocates a "decisive no" to what he sees as the left-wing European Union.
"We have to take back our national sovereignty and currency," he said.
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UPDATE:
Salvini escapes protesters with car
SOT, Francesco, protester (Italian): "The facts happened as we have said. Salvini said he wanted to enter the camp, many of us arrived, we saw Mr Salvini, we surrounded the car to stop it, the driver accelerated to escape our comrades. We could have witnessed a serious injury. We are going to the hospital to inspect the people who were hit in this petty attack"
A car carrying Matteo Salvini, MEP and leader of the anti-immigrant Lega Nord (Northern League), rammed protesters in Bologna, Saturday as he drove away from a Roma camp he had tried to visit. The protesters were taken to hospital after being hit by his car.
Protesters had earlier prevented Salvini from entering the Roma camp by blocking the entrance to the area.
Lega Nord was founded in 1991 as a coalition of regionalist political parties in northern Italy that calls for autonomy or independence for the northern 'Padania' region.
A car carrying Matteo Salvini, MEP and leader of the anti-immigrant Lega Nord (Northern League), rammed protesters in Bologna, Saturday as he drove away from a Roma camp he had tried to visit. The protesters were taken to hospital after being hit by his car.
Protesters had earlier prevented Salvini from entering the Roma camp by blocking the entrance to the area.
Lega Nord was founded in 1991 as a coalition of regionalist political parties in northern Italy that calls for autonomy or independence for the northern 'Padania' region.
