Salvini claims center-right leadership

(ANSA) - Rome, May 4 - Rightwing populist Northern League party chief Matteo Salvini said in his autobiography out Wednesday that it is "my honor and my duty to lead the opposition against the Democratic Party (PD)" of Premier Matteo Renzi. "Silvio Berlusconi held the center-right helm until 2013," Salvini wrote in his book titled According to Matteo. "But this is no longer so. (Berlusconi's) Forza Italia is a party in decline, weakened by internal feuds...and with a political leader...who today can no longer act as the sole hinge of the coalition".
    Berlusconi should take a step back due to his advanced age, because of the so-called Severino anti-corruption law banning convicted felons from holding public office, and because "the League is the strongest party in the coalition today".
    Berlusconi was ejected from the Senate under the Severino law after he was convicted of multi-million-euro tax fraud at his Mediaset media conglomerate. A weekly poll last Friday showed the Northern League rose 0.7 to 15.1% and FI added 0.6 to 11%.
    The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) rose 0.8 points to 27.1%, bringing it ever closer to the ruling PD as it lost 0.9 points to reach 30.9%.