In Italy’s government, the election of Ursula von der Leyen as the future President of the European Commission has led to a serious dispute that is destabilizing the populist alliance once again. Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said yesterday he no longer trusted the coalition partner of the Five-Star Movement. He has „also on a personal level“ no more confidence, said the head of the right-wing Lega on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Helsinki.
While the stars of the German CDU politician from the Leyen gave her voice, the Lega refused. The parties also disagree on infrastructure projects and migration issues. The two unequal coalition partners have been in government for a little more than a year, during which time tensions have grown. Only at the beginning of June had threatened the non-party Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte with the resignation, should the thugs not agree.
„To tell the truth, I’m a little tired of it,“ said Star Chef Luigi Di Maio. „I want to go on, but if the Lega wants to overthrow the government, she should say it clearly.“ Should there be a government crisis, there could be a new election in the fall. Salvinis Lega has risen to a good 38 percent with its tough anti-migration agenda, while the stars plummeted to 17 percent. In the parliamentary election last year, the stars had reached more than 30 percent and the Lega about 17 percent.
