League leader Matteo Salvini
on Monday shrugged off criticism from his predecessor Umberto
Bossi that the rightwing party was allegedly losing ground
because of its transformation under Salvini from a regionalist
to a nationalist force.
"I respect his ideas but I won't change mine," said Salvini
after former Northern League leader Bossi told la Repubblica
daily that "nationalism is making us lose, if you go with the
far right you remain alone".
Salvini went on: "the numbers say we've never been as strong
as we are now in the regions of the north and with great pride
we are also now decisive and present in the south".
Anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Salvini suffered a
setback when his candidate for Emilia Romagna governor was
defeated by the centre right eight days ago.
But the centre right candidate in Calabria, in a coalition
led by the League, won out on the same Sunday.
Salvini took over the Northern League from Bossi in 2013 and
dropped the 'northern' from its name two years later amid a
successful drive to spread its appeal from its heartlands to the
rest of the country.
It is now by far Italy's biggest party.
Salvini added Monday "there are no longer any 'noble
fathers'," referring to founder Bossi.
"The noble fathers of the League are the nine million
Italians who give us their vote".
He added: "Now is not the time to divide us".
Salvini's southern visits have sometimes been greeted with
protests, and on Monday he called off a trip to a Palermo market
Tuesday due to a scheduled protest.
An anti-Salvini and anti-populist movement called the
Sardines, which packed out a Bologna square in mid-November in
opposition to the rightist strongman's vow to free Emilia
Romagna from the left, has spread to the rest of Italy.
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