Salvini aims to forge far-right alliance ahead of European elections

Italian deputy PM holding gathering of far-right parties including Germany’s AfD next week as he seeks to create bloc of populists

Shaun Walker in Budapest, Angela Giuffrida in Rome and Jon Henley in Paris
Thu 4 Apr 2019 07.00 BST

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of its far-right League party, will host a gathering of European far-right parties in Milan next week aimed at building an alliance before elections in May.

Salvini is attempting to position himself as the informal leader of Eurosceptic, populist forces in Europe, but it remains unclear whether any kind of formal coalition will work, given policy differences between parties and the tangled web of alliances already at play inside the European parliament.

Europe’s rightwing populists are in power in Italy, Hungary, Austria and Poland and are riding high in several countries including France and the Netherlands, and, according to polls, will make significant advances in May’s elections. However, they are not predicted to form a majority and most analysts believe they will struggle to present a united front.

Italian media reported that far-right parties from as many as 20 countries were invited to the event, due to be held on Monday at a luxury hotel in Milan. A spokesman for the League declined to give any details about who might attend, saying only that “further details would be provided within the next days”.

A spokesperson for Germany’s far-right AfD party said it would be sending a representative to the event but declined to elaborate further.

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