Salvini reconfirmed secretary of the League with 465 votes against Garavaglia's 146

Matteo Salvini was confirmed as secretary of the League, for the fourth time. He will remain in office for four years, until 2030. It is the result of the vote of the extraordinary congress of the party which was expressed by secret ballot. Salvini had 465 votes in favour. For the challenger Massimo Garavaglia 146 votes. There are 706 delegates with the right to vote.

There was a roar for Matteo Salvini immediately after the proclamation of the vote that confirmed him as secretary by the party congressmen. Then there is a hug on stage between him and the challenger Massimo Garavaglia. Salvini had just mentioned him thanking him and immediately afterwards Garavaglia went on stage and hugged him.

THE CANDIDATES' INTERVENTIONS:

"This congress, if you choose me again as secretary, will give me the mandate to go to the Council of Ministers to bring the clear position of the League: we cannot continue to send money to Ukraine": this is what Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said during his speech at the congress. Salvini then asked the audience of delegates: "Raise your hand if you think I have this mandate."

Salvini spoke about the new symbol: the writing Lega grande above, the Alberto di Giussano in the center and the yellow wording below 'federal Italy'. "I will propose this symbol, without my name" said Matteo Salvini at the Northern League congress. A logo that "holds together the past, the present and the future" he added.

"I thank Massimo - he said, referring to the challenger Massimo Garavaglia - for offering us the opportunity to have a debate in the only place where it is appropriate to have a debate. We are here because as for Massimo for 36 years the League is my family, my children know it, those who live with me, my parents, for how many of you the League comes before the family?".

From the stage Salvini aimed a dig at Garavaglia, who had previously said: "I'm going to visit the companies on Monday and tomorrow I'm in the Brescia area. All the entrepreneurs tell me: 'Go ahead, say hello to Giorgetti and thank him'. This is fundamental". Shortly afterwards Salvini replied: "The entrepreneurs from the North were asking us to join the Draghi government, then the only people who were not in the Draghi government voted in the political elections. In addition to Massimo (Garavaglia, challenger to the secretariat, ed.) I say, to the compliments to Giorgetti which I also pay, if they voted for us it wouldn't be disgusting... the pat on the back to the League and the vote for someone else doesn't make us save the factories from the EU".

Salvini also remarked: "I regret the choice and I take full responsibility for it, entering the Draghi government with the Democratic Party. Never again, never again, never again".

"We have champions that everyone envies us. If I were to win, I want these champions at my side, and in front of me: Zaia, Durigon, Giorgetti, obviously Matteo Salvini. We have the champions."

"Why did I run? Because the goal is to reverse the trend, we have to wake up," said Garavaglia. "The polls are indications, they give a direction. We got 8.8% in the elections and we did not grow. We must grow," he added. “Should we ever win, there will be no retaliation, no punishment, no blacklist – we are a family.”

Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti spoke first. "Is everything okay? No, everything is not okay. We clearly perceive - he said - that we have problems. We are here to improve. And it is perfectly understandable for those who started from scratch. Marti (secretary of the League in Puglia, ed.) is clear that you are happy if you get 8%. The problem is if in Bergamo, where they were used to doing 50%, they get 20% and they get pissed off and ask themselves why. So how can we recover? Here we are talked about the team. I simply say: let's bring into the team those who have demonstrated in the area that they are able to produce consensus."

The second and final day of the congress began almost an hour late due to technical problems, in the Allianz MiCo congress center in Milan. Lorenzo Fontana, who chairs the assembly, apologized, saying: "Artificial intelligence is evidently not that intelligent yet, we have room to survive."