Matteo Salvini

He is named as a possible Prime Minister of Italy in the next general election.

Career

Salvini became federal secretary of the Lega on 15 December 2013 and led it to 17.4 percent in the 2018 general election and over 34 percent in the 2019 European elections. He was Interior Minister in the 2018 to 2019 government. Since 22 October 2022 he has been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport. In January 2026 he met British activist Tommy Robinson, citing common battles; opposition parties and Antonio Tajani criticised the meeting.

Positions

Wikipedia describes Salvini as right-wing populist and Eurosceptic, and as one of the leading figures of the populist wave in Europe in the 2010s, stressing de-globalisation, nativist and protectionist stances. As Interior Minister he pursued a closed-ports policy towards migrant rescue ships.

Controversies

Salvini was tried in Palermo over the August 2019 refusal to let the Open Arms rescue ship disembark 147 migrants, on charges of kidnapping and refusal of official duties. A court acquitted him in December 2024. Palermo prosecutors appealed directly to the Court of Cassation in July 2025, and on 18 December 2025 Cassation rejected the appeal, making the acquittal final, ANSA reported.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · ANSA

Photo: European Union, Attribution, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)