Dozens of admirers of
nationalist opposition League leader Matteo Salvini prayed for
him outside a Turin trial into his defaming the judiciary on
Tuesday.
Salvini, who has frequently accused prosecutors of
politicising justice with their probes into his anti-migrant
moves, was not present at the hearing because of his busy
parliamentary schedule.
But his fans, members of the I Cinque Sassi (Five Rocks)
group, turned up anyway.
"We are proud of him and of the work he is doing for Italy
and the Italians," said the promoter of the initiative, Angela
Ciconte.
She said she had met the former interior minister at a book
event Saturday and got his approval for the initiative.
Salvini frequently ends his firebrand speeches against
migrants and the government with a prayer to Mary to look out
for Italy, and brandishes rosary beads.
"We know," said Ciconte, "that he prays as we do. But we
would never have dared to do something without his permission".
Salvini has been criticised, notably by Premier Giuseppe
Conte, for allegedly exploiting religious images and prayers for
political effect.
A new grass roots movement, the Sardines, has recently
sprung up against Salvini's populist far-right rhetoric and the
League's bid to wrest Emilia Romagna from the centre left next
month after a recent win in Umbria, another longtime leftwing
fief.
The sardines have been demonstrating all over Italy and are
set for a major rally in Rome this weekend.
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