Nevertheless, if, as Matteo Salvini has assured, the agreement in Veneto is honoured, then there is no doubt that the League, which has surpassed the Italian Brotherhood there, will again consider Lombardy contestable. Territory that, at the time of the coronation of future Doge Alberto Stefani, had been given as a dowry to Giorgia Meloni and her consul in the North Ignazio La Russa.
And it is no coincidence that one of the first reactions to the vote was conveyed viciously to Repubblica by a loyalist of the prime minister like national program manager Francesco Filini, who was prepared to declassify the vote in Veneto as a “local vote” and to ensure that at the right time the FdI would be ready to present “our best proposal” to its center-right allies. Words that were already considered indigestible on the eve of the Northern League by Colonel Massimiliano Romeo, leader of the group in the Senate and also secretary of the Lombard League. The essence of Northern autonomy is based on the idea of a national party and does not want to be exchanged for the Veneto presidency. These words were confirmed in public by the Lombard governor Attilio Fontana, but became harsher in private conversations by more political councilors on his board, convinced that with the FdI’s and perhaps very identity-based candidacy, despite large initial advantages “you can also lose: because Lombardy is not Milan and the Region is conquered in the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia, in the Valtellina and in agricultural areas. And only the League passes there”.
A reason that is not easy to digest for La Russa who, after the era of Formigoni, Maroni and Fontana, is convinced that he has the cards in the deck in his hand. In fact, currently, the identity of the man destined for the succession is drawn by Meloni’s sister with the characteristics of Coldiretti president Ettore Prandini. Solid family traditions, both political and entrepreneurial, undoubted managerial abilities, but also mediation, great respect even among his opponents and above all, a very large pool of votes in the field of agriculture that would make him the ideal candidate. So much so that Meloni can count on him as agriculture minister. In this case the alternative was Carlo Fidanza, an old politician who had much experience in Europe, but above all a bildungsroman, a mature (political) novel that he shared with his sister. An acceptable choice for La Russa on behalf of Lombardy’s current ruling pair, but one that could be ruined if La Russa decides to focus on Giovanni Bozzetti, a former board member on the still highly regarded Albertini board and currently president of the all-powerful Fondazione Fiera who, even with the Olympics, would be an ideal springboard.
And the League? He could focus on board members Guido Guidesi (former deputy secretary to the President of the Council of Ministers) and Massimo Sertori, great administrators who just need to be a little better known even outside their world.
The time seems far away, because from the top floor of the Palazzo Lombardia they completely deny the possibility of an early closure of the legislature in 2027, but the imminent election of a candidate for mayor of Milan also forces the Region to speed up the process.
