On Labor Day, Matteo Salvini dusts off the “bulldozer”, the symbol of the rise of the leader of the League. He did it during the afternoon live broadcast on social media, speaking about the rule to remedy small building irregularities: «It’s not an amnesty. For those who have built a villa on the beach, nothing can be healed there, there is the bulldozer.” A return to the past perhaps suggested by polls such as that of EMG which sees the Northern League rising to almost 9% (8.7) against Forza Italia’s 8.3. Evidently Roberto Vannacci’s candidacy is starting to bear fruit, at least in terms of voting intentions.
In addition to the personal understanding, Salvini and Vannacci also seem to have protests in common. If the general had to suffer the attempted breakthrough of the Neapolitan anarchists, Salvini was welcomed with bad eggs in Livorno, where last night he presented his book, Controvento. “Salvini can’t enter here” the demonstrators shouted, but the day before he had already explained that “Livorno is not the property of nostalgics with closed fists”. The demonstrators, around 200, reached the outside of the Quattro Mori Theater and shouted slogans against Salvini (“Fascists out of Livorno”) and against the profession of policeman and carabiniere. A protester also attempted to provoke the police by trying to attach a banner to the riot shields. Essentially two topics took center stage during the League leader’s political day: Vannacci, in fact, and the European elections.
Speaking on Mattino Cinque News Salvini was clear: «We on the lists are not doing any purchasing campaign and I plan to put on the table in Brussels two issues that the League will carry forward in the European Parliament: the house and the car». Then returning to the controversy following Vannacci’s words, he explains: «he is a free man, he has defended Italy in many countries around the world. He was threatened by ISIS, imagine if he lets himself be scared by some snobbish left-wing journalist. If you can nominate someone who is in prison on serious charges, Salis, why can’t you nominate a general who defended the country?”. Salvini doesn’t even shy away from the alleged internal controversies: «Stomach ache in the League? No, the League was born in the territories. Each territory is free to choose.” In other words, the Northern League members vote for the League candidates proposed by the territory. Also because Vannacci’s role is not to intercept the preferences of Northern League voters, but to bring new ones.
Salvini, again on Mattino Cinque News, then explained the title of his book: «I chose Controvento because a large part of the left-wing press, of the financial world, of the bureaucrats, don’t like me or the League. I think I am the only minister on trial because I blocked the landings and kept a promise made to the voters. The so-called “strong powers” don’t like me, General Vannacci, the Northern League mayors, but we carry on anyway.”
In the afternoon Salvini, from Foligno, spoke on the clashes in Naples against the general. «Ideas are responded to with other different ideas and if some extremist makes a mess because he doesn’t like Vannacci or Salvini and believes that they have no right to speak, it means that we were right to nominate General Vannacci in the name of freedom of thought, speech and writing.”
