“Just turn the other cheek.” Matteo Salvini says it sincerely, now convinced. And he also adds: “I want to go to Pontida with the militants who are proud to get there.” It’s another way of repeating that “We are no fools” that Massimiliano Romeo, the leader of the Northern League League in the Senate, had said shortly before. And in these sentences is all the irritation of the League. What’s more: all the anger of a party that says it is “ready for the barricades”.

Of course, both sentences confirm that the leaguers they are not tempted to pull the plug now. Salvini first, especially because the perversions of the five-star movement (on the Rome incinerator in the dl Aiuti) and the determination of the Democratic Party (on cannabis and ius scholae) gave the leader, if necessary, the best possible hand to get the party behind to regroup him. And therefore, barring surprises unrelated to League decisions, the showdown is being postponed. Although the party estimates that on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week the provision on cannabis – “free drug” in the League’s definition – and on Thursday and Friday the ius scholae, the recognition of citizenship based on the cycles of studies Italy: “The League loves this” beams a convinced Salvinian.

The appointment, should he choose de Carroccio, it’s for Sept 18. That day, the Pontida rally should also be an emotional turning point for the militants. This can be understood from the way it is talked about in the League and from a clue that can be identified in the words of Massimiliano Romeo: “We have made very explicit requests with a very precise content, after which we will make the evaluations on based on what the government will do”. Themes repeated and growing in recent months: “On work, pensions, wages, fiscal peace, the law on autonomy and the revision of citizenship income, we want concrete answers”. Romeo adds: “The evaluations will be done, as it should be, throughout the competition. We are a team, there will be mainly the base of the League, which is important ». In short, we are going back to the days when de Carroccio was populist without even realizing it, to the years when oaths and commitments to history were celebrated on the lawn.

The fact is that while Salvini was in conclave… as his senators talk about what a party like the Lega can “gobble up” before leaving the table, news comes that the government can’t put its trust in aid. No need to even think about it: for the Leaguers, it’s “a hand given to the 5 Stars to allow them to keep their hands free. A courtesy not reserved for us ». In reality, after a day of mediation late at night, it is still not clear what will happen today, even though the government seems to be trusting. And always in the evening, the well-known player of the Northern League arrives: «We are incredulous at the spectacle offered by the” campo largo “which is visibly tightening. We have been at a standstill all day due to internal squabbles within the center left that risk blocking 15 billion in aid to Italian families and businesses ». And from Ankara, to those who ask him what Salvini is going to do, Minister Giorgetti sighs: “Ah, to know…”.