Salvini re-elected Lega secretary with 465 votes, Garavaglia gets 146

Salvini confirmed for a fourth term

Matteo Salvini was re-elected secretary of the Lega at an extraordinary congress in Milan, winning 465 votes in a secret ballot. His challenger, the senator Massimo Garavaglia, received 146 votes, and 706 delegates were entitled to vote. The mandate runs four years, until 2030. The announcement drew a roar from the congress floor, after which the two men embraced on stage.

A ballot with a disputed booth

Delegates close to Garavaglia asked for transparency, alleging that instructions had circulated in Salvini's camp to make votes identifiable by region, by writing his name in slightly different ways, such as in capitals. According to Lega delegates called to vote, the ballot had no candidate names pre-printed, so names had to be written by hand, and the voting booth was closed. Garavaglia had asked earlier that the booth stay open to avoid doubts and disputes. Asked about the debate, Salvini said he had handled everything except ballot boxes and that the party was mature enough to look beyond the question of curtains.

Garavaglia's result and the party's direction

Garavaglia, who ran without an organised faction, said after the count that the result was good. He put his support at around a quarter of the vote and said he had campaigned entirely on his own.

It is a good result, we are around 25 percent, which is very positive even considering that I have no organisation.

He added that his candidacy was meant to give voice to different currents within the party, and that the League would now work together, drawing on its younger members. Riccardo Molinari, the Lega leader in the Chamber of Deputies, said in a video interview with Adnkronos that the debate had been calm and civil, with no polemics on 24 October. He said a motion on the northern question, backed by most northern governors and regional secretaries, aimed to unite the party around its future battles. Molinari also said an amendment approved the previous day created a political secretary role meant to widen the party's decision-making base.

The enemies are outside the party, not inside it.

New symbol and Ukraine

Salvini showed delegates the new symbol, which reads 'Lega Italia federale' on a white and blue background. The word Lega is blue, Italia is yellow and federale is white, and the figure of Alberto da Giussano with a raised sword remains in the centre. The symbol had previously read 'Lega per Salvini premier'. Salvini explained that the name was removed to fit the new electoral law, which requires each coalition to name its candidate for prime minister.

I will propose this symbol, without my name.

Luca Zaia, the Veneto governor, said he liked the new symbol because he read it as a vision of an Italy that will become a federation of regions. In his speech, Salvini said the congress would give him a mandate to carry the party's position to the Council of Ministers that Italy could no longer keep sending money to Ukraine. He also attacked some newspapers, accusing their owners of hoping the League would die, and said a new phase began that afternoon.