Category Archives: Matteo Salvini

Umbria election exit poll points to win for Salvini and Italy’s right

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Donatella Tesei, backed by Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi, appears set to win in centre-left Italian stronghold

Matteo Salvini’s political fortunes have been given a boost after an exit poll by Italy’s state broadcaster pointed to a win for a rightwing coalition backed by his League party in a regional election in Umbria.

Donatella Tesei, backed by the League, the far-right Brothers of Italy and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, will be elected governor with 56.5% to 60.5% of the vote, according to an exit poll for state broadcaster RAI.

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Thousands take to streets in Rome for far-right rally

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Matteo Salvini’s League joins rightwing parties in ‘Italian pride’ protest

Thousands of Italians descended on Rome for a far-right rally labelled “Italy pride”, evoking connotations to the “march on Rome” held on 27 October 1922 that marked the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s rise to power.

The rally on Saturday had been in the making since Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, was spectacularly ousted from government in late August.

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First migrants land in Italy under post-Salvini coalition deal with EU

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EU ministers pledge support as 82 disembark from NGO boat, ending Salvini’s entry ban

Eighty-two migrants have disembarked in Italy, marking a break from the era of hardline immigration measures pushed by the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

On Saturday night, the migrants were transferred from the Norwegian-flagged rescue boat Ocean Viking, operated by the French charities SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to a coastguard vessel before being taken ashore on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.

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Italy PM Conte and left-leaning coalition wins vote of confidence

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M5S and Democratic party could potentially reverse Salvini’s hardline policies

Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and his new left-leaning coalition have won a vote of confidence in the Senate – the final step needed for the new government to exercise its full powers.

The move paves the way for the coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) to potentially reverse the hardline immigration policies of the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

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Lessons of the second world war are at risk of being forgotten, or even rewritten | Sadiq Khan

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As we mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the second world war, with liberal democracies again under siege, Britain should be leading the fight against extremism

Eighty years ago, the start of the second world war saw Nazi Germany invading Poland. Six years later, up to 85 million people were dead. I’m in Poland this weekend to commemorate the start of the bloodiest war in human history.

An entire generation of brave men and women around the globe sacrificed everything to defeat the singular evil of Nazism and fascism.

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Salvini urges far-right supporters to march on Rome after bid to force election backfires

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Interior minister calls for ‘day of mobilisation’ in protest at moves to sideline League

Matteo Salvini has called on his supporters to descend on Rome as Italy moves towards ousting his far-right League from power after his attempt to collapse the Italian government and force snap elections.

Salvini earmarked 19 October for a “peaceful day of Italian pride” against a potential government made up of his former ally, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), and the centre-left Democratic party (PD).

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Matteo Salvini: the master campaigner counts cost of strategic errors

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Far-right League leader licks his wounds after gambit to collapse Italian government fails

Less than a month ago, Matteo Salvini was in his element, drinking mojitos, DJing and posing for countless selfies at Papeete, his favourite beach club in the seaside resort town of Milano Marittima. He had good reason for his ebullient mood: his far-right League party in Italy was nearing 39% in the polls.

Related: Salvini sidelined as M5S and Democrats agree Italy coalition

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Italy’s parties scramble to form government by Tuesday deadline

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Choice of PM proves main obstacle as PD and M5S try to head off far-right coalition

The name of the next Italian prime minister is the main hurdle in talks between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the centre-left Democratic party (PD) as they scramble to form a new government by Tuesday and avoid early elections that could put Matteo Salvini at the head of a far-right coalition.

The PD leader, Nicola Zingaretti, has objected to demands from his M5S counterpart, Luigi Di Maio, to reinstate Giuseppe Conte as prime minister. Conte resigned on Tuesday, ending the ill-fated 14-month alliance between M5S and the far-right League.

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Italy’s president gives parties four days to form stable government

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Sergio Mattarella said that without a stable coalition Italy would have to head to the polls

Italy’s president has given the country’s main political parties four more days to negotiate the formation of an alternative government after the collapse of the stormy alliance between the far-right League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S).

Sergio Mattarella said on Thursday night that the crisis must be “resolved quickly” and that without a solid majority the only other option would be new elections.

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Italy’s Democratic party leader warms to idea of M5S alliance

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Ex-PM Matteo Renzi’s plan may stave off elections that could lead to fully far-right government

The leader of Italy’s centre-left Democratic party (PD) has warmed to a potential alliance with its long-time rival, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), in an attempt to stave off snap elections that threaten to create western Europe’s first fully far-right government since the second world war.

Nicola Zingaretti, who was elected PD party leader in March, relented to the prospect of forming a government with M5S on condition it lasts until the end of the legislature in 2023. “A possible new government must be a turning point, lasting the term, or it is better to go to the polls,” he said after a meeting with PD members on Wednesday morning.

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Italy and Matteo Salvini face uncertainty after PM’s resignation

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President could call snap election, seek new coalition or install caretaker government

“This government ends here,” said Giuseppe Conte, as he announced his resignation as Italy’s prime minister on Tuesday. After almost two weeks of twists and turns, what happens next is far from clear.

The president, Sergio Mattarella, is now calling the shots in a crisis triggered when Matteo Salvini pulled the plug on the League’s tenuous relationship with the Five Star Movement (M5S) in an attempt to capitalise on his popularity and become PM.

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Italian PM Giuseppe Conte attacks Matteo Salvini in resignation speech – video

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Conte has told Italy's senate he is stepping down because of a decision by the far-right League, which is led by the interior minister, Matteo Salvini, to pull the plug on its populist alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement. Conte says he will officially inform the country's president, Sergio Mattarella, of his decision later on Tuesday.

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Italian PM resigns with attack on ‘opportunist’ Salvini

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Giuseppe Conte tells Italian Senate that far-right leader has triggered political crisis to serve his own interests

Giuseppe Conte has resigned as Italy’s prime minister after blasting Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League, as an “opportunist” for triggering a government crisis that could have “serious consequences” for Italy.

Conte said he would formally resign his mandate to the president, Sergio Mattarella, after the close of the debate in the Senate on Tuesday.

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People on rescue ship off Italy at breaking point, say doctors

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Ship carrying 107 people rescued from sea has been refused permission to dock

The medical and psychological condition of people onboard a rescue boat anchored off the Italian island of Lampedusa for 18 days has reached breaking point, doctors have said.

The vessel operated by the Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms has been refused permission to dock by Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini. On Monday Open Arms suggested chartering a plane to fly the 107 migrants onboard to Spain.

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Back me to stop Salvini: Renzi casts himself as Italy’s saviour

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As political turmoil grips Rome, the former prime minister tells the Observer of his mission to thwart a far-right takeover

His energetic stint at the helm of Italy’s government was brought to a juddering halt when, in 2016, he was effectively sacked by voters after suffering an embarrassing defeat in a constitutional referendum. Now Matteo Renzi is back, casting himself as the man to save Italy from the potential grip of a far-right government led by the League’s Matteo Salvini and calling on all “responsible politicians” to back him to thwart the extremist threat. He is re-entering the fray, he insists, for the sake of the country’s future – and not to reignite his own career.

“For my personal rating and consensus it would be better to stay silent,” Renzi told the Observer in an exclusive interview last week. “But Salvini must be stopped, and it’s important to give a strong message – there is an alternative.”

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Migrant ship heads for Italy’s waters after judge overrules Salvini

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Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms has 147 rescued people on board

The Spanish humanitarian ship Open Arms was headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa with 147 rescued migrants on board on Wednesday after a judge in Rome suspended far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini’s decree banning the vessel from Italy’s territorial waters.

The Proactiva Open Arms charity which operates the ship said it would not try to force entry to Lampedusa port, as another rescue vessel, the Sea-Watch 3, did in June, prompting its seizure and the arrest of its captain.

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Richard Gere and Matteo Salvini clash over migrant crisis

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Row follows US actor urging Italian government to ‘stop demonising asylum seekers’

Italy’s far-right deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, has clashed with Richard Gere over the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, suggesting the Hollywood star should house himself those stranded on rescue ships after the US actor urged the Italian government to “stop demonising asylum seekers”.

Gere who is currently on the island of Lampedusa, Sicily, after a visit onboard a Spanish NGO ship, Proactiva Open Arms, where he met some of the 160 migrants the vessel rescued in the strait of Sicily. The ship has been stuck for 10 days off Lampedusa due to Italy’s ban on landing migrants.

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Italy moves closer to fresh elections that could bolster far right

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Matteo Salvini reiterates call for snap vote as his party plans motion to dismantle coalition

Italy appears set for fresh elections that could push the country further toward the far right.

Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister, reiterated his calls for a snap vote on Friday, adding that any attempt to block his wishes and install a new ruling coalition would be unacceptable. His League party said it would present a no-confidence motion in the senate in its push to dismantle the tempestuous coalition with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S).

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Italy’s Matteo Salvini calls for fresh elections as coalition fractures

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Far-right leader says it is pointless continuing government with Five Star Movement

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, has called for a snap election, urging the prime minister to reconvene parliament to confirm that the coalition government is no longer viable.

The dramatic move on Thursday came after months of fighting between the League and its coalition partners, the anti-establishement Five Star Movement (M5S).

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Matteo Salvini embarks on ‘beach tour’ amid election speculation

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Far-right leader takes unusual step in effort to drum up support in south of country

Matteo Salvini is taking his perennial campaign to Italy’s beaches as the far-right leader seeks to whip up more support before widely-anticipated new elections.

The Italian parliament officially begins its summer break at the end of the week, but Salvini, deputy prime minister and interior minister, is finishing on Wednesday to begin what the Italian media are calling his “beach tour”.

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