07 October 2024
Pontida like the new Lepanto. From the stage of the Northern League rally, Matteo Salvini gathers the “Patriots” founded by Viktor Orban and signs the pact for a new “holy alliance of the European peoples”, united to achieve “peace” in Europe and “stop the Islamic invasion”. “They did it in Lepanto, we will do it again”, claims the Northern League secretary, who is organizing the gathering on the eve of the anniversary of the battle in which, on 7 October 1571, the Holy League defeated the naval force deployed by the Ottoman Empire . The gap appears evident between the first part of the gathering, in which, through the voices of governors, ministers and group leaders, the historical values of the party, founded 40 years ago by Bossi, are reaffirmed, and the second part, entrusted to the voices of the allied leaders in Europe.
At the opening of the rally, in their speeches, Luca Zaia, Attilio Fontana and Roberto Calderoli celebrated the green light to the law on autonomy and announced that the next battle will be that of fiscal federalism, unfurling huge regional flags, and dusting off words like “centralism” and “tax residue”, which had not been heard on the Pontida stage for a long time. While, under their respective jackets, Massimiliano Fedriga and Giancarlo Giorgetti wear a vintage Lega pullover and polo shirt. Between the first and second parts, the “cushion” intervention is entrusted to the new star, Roberto Vannacci, awaited and applauded at his “first” Pontida. The general enjoys a crowd and selfies upon his arrival, and is praised when he says from the stage that he will keep his word, because the «League is not a taxi». The other star of the day is the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who closes, together with Salvini, the last part of the rally, in which the European allies of the League, a sort of “sovereignist International”, gathered in the European Patriots group, march Strasbourg: from the Dutch Geert Wilders to the Spaniard Josè Antonio Fuster of Vox, as well as the Portuguese Andrè Ventura of Chega, the Austrian Marlene Swazek of the Fpo, and the video messages of Jordan Bardella of the Rassemblement national and the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The common thread of the gathering is the Open Arms trial of the Northern League secretary for having blocked – in the summer of 2019, when he was Minister of the Interior – the disembarkation of migrants on board the NGO’s ship. The slogan of the demonstration is «It is not a crime to defend the borders» and there are various gadgets and banners in support of Salvini (Calderoli goes on stage with a t-shirt with the words «Process me too»).
After the Hungarian Alex Reed, it is the turn of the leader of the League on stage, who thanks his people, his party comrades and the European allies for the solidarity shown (also present were the Czechs Ondrej Knotek of Ano and Petr Macinka Motoriste sobe). «The League was born 40 years ago to give strength and territories, to give social cohesion and hope to our people – he recalls -. The League is a story of coherence. From the Pontida meadow, an eternal thank you to Umberto Bossi and Roberto Maroni for accompanying us this far.” The day after the controversy over the “Tajani smuggler” banner displayed by the boys of the Youth League, Salvini assures that the government is “compact” and made up of “friends even before allies”. «Every now and then we argue but then a solution is always found», he adds. But the Northern League vice prime minister took advantage of the opportunity to send two messages to Forza Italia. First of all, “there is no going back on autonomy”, he says. Then, on the ius Italiae, launched by the Azzurri, it seems trenchant: «The recipe for the next few years is not to grant more citizenships or give them away more easily, the priority for the League and Italy must be to be able to revoke the citizenship of those who criminal in our house.” The Captain also talks about maneuver. «If someone has to pay something more, let the bankers pay. Our goal is to lower VAT taxes and increase workers’ salaries.”
#Lets #stop #Islamic #invasion #Tempo
