Bergamo League supporters split over Salvini’s future: “The only solution is for him to return as interior minister”

At a League festival in Bolgare, a member stood up and scolded those on stage in dialect: “You earn 10,000 euros a month, stop arguing in the newspapers and set a good example.” The outburst captured the growing frustration inside the party as Bergamo activists begin choosing sides over Matteo Salvini’s future.

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You earn 10,000 euros a month, stop arguing in the newspapers and set a good example.

Some members want resignations and a return to the League’s original themes. Others still point to the party congress that closed unanimously. The divide will be visible on Monday evening in the audience at an auditorium in Alzano, where Attilio Fontana and Massimiliano Romeo will discuss their ideas for the party’s leadership. Another test will be support for Gianluca Pini’s proposal to revive the old Northern League and call a federal congress.

Pini says many people from Bergamo, including prominent figures, have contacted him. “This is not a nostalgia operation, but federalism against sovereignism,” he said. He criticized the repeated postponement of the congress and declared that Salvini is “politically dead.” Former senator Susanna Pergreffi offered a darker assessment: “We risk extinction. We need an analysis to rediscover the original dream without chasing other parties.” She added that the worst problem was not angry members, but discouraged ones.

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This is not a nostalgia operation, but federalism against sovereignism.

The public nature of the dispute has also unsettled long-standing members. Deputy Rebecca Frassini recalled that Umberto Bossi taught them that “dirty laundry is washed at home.” Some members remember closed-door gatherings where insults and even chairs flew, while outsiders knew nothing. The current debates, including the meeting in Alzano, are open to everyone.

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We risk extinction. We need an analysis to rediscover the original dream without chasing other parties.

Mayors are divided as well, although few want to take a public position. Treviglio mayor Juri Imeri called for local experience and unity without discussing the matter in newspapers. Fontanella mayor Mauro Brambilla said the party needed a members’ assembly and noted that a congress had already taken place. Alzano mayor Camillo Bertocchi identified himself with the federalist side, saying, “I am a League member because I am a federalist.”

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Dirty laundry is washed at home.