Matteo Salvini, the leader of the
right-wing Northern League party, reiterated on Thursday that he
is ready to lead the whole centre right and said it is time for
ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi to make a decision. "Berlusconi has
done a lot," Salvini told the League's Radio Padania. "But I am
ready". The anti-immigrant, anti-euro League has been polling at
least two points higher than Berlusconi's Forza Italia for the
last two years. In other remarks, Salvini said he wanted to get
Italian sovereignty back from the EU but then "federalism is
needed". He also commented on recent graft cases involving
Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) by saying that
"everyone has bad apples but there there are too many". Asked
about a perceived clash between the PD and the judiciary, he
said "I don't wage campaigns on other people's problems".
Firebrand Salvini has expanded the League's base from its
northern heartlands with his populist stances on migrants, crime
and other rightwing hobbyhorses.
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