One of Italy’s leading rightwing politicians, Matteo Salvini, has declared his unabashed support for Donald Trump, saying he would choose the “legality and security” of a Trump presidency over the “disastrous” policies of Angela Merkel and Barack Obama.
The bombastic head of the Northern League party – who is known for his verbal attacks on migrants, stance against the European Union and praise of the “good work” of fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini – met his American idol at a rally in Philadelphia on Monday. The date was 25 April, a day when most mainstream politicians in Italy are celebrating a national holiday that has never sat well with some ultra-conservative politicians: the day that marks the country’s liberation from fascism.
Salvini’s most important European ally is Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s Front National party.
In a series of tweets, Salvini praised Trump’s candidacy and published a photograph of himself with the New York tycoon.
Renzi sceglie il buonismo disastroso di Obama e Merkel, io preferisco legalità e sicurezza proposte da #Trump2016! pic.twitter.com/DsS5lo6ysN
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) April 26, 2016
The two met for a 20-minute conversation that focused on immigration, an issue that links Trump with far-right candidates in Europe who want to tighten border controls to halt the flow of refugees and migrants from Africa and the Middle East into Europe.
Trump reportedly responded to Salvini’s robust support for his candidacy by declaring that he hoped the Northern League leader would be the next prime minister of Italy.
The Northern League – or Lega Nord, as it is called in Italy – began as a secessionist party that argued for a separation of rich northern Italy from the poor south, but Salvini has – with mixed success – changed the party’s focus from secession to migration and rants against Italy’s Roma minority.
Trump’s endorsement of Salvini is not likely to keep Italy’s centre-left prime minister, Matteo Renzi, up at night. Renzi has already professed his support for the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton.
In meeting Trump, Salvini has scored a coup of sorts compared with other rightwing politicians in Europe. A report in Politico last month claimed that Trump was ignoring his fans on the far right, including MEPs close to Le Pen, who had hoped to meet him at the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. When Trump did not appear, they instead met Ben Carson, the failed Republican candidate, and Trump youth supporters.
Salvini said he would be in Washington on Tuesday for meetings.
He was accompanied at the Trump rally in Philadelphia by Amato Berardi, a former member of the Italian parliament and founder of the national Italian American political action committee.