Matteo Salvini
| Matteo Salvini MEP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Federal Secretary of Lega Nord | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 15 December 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Roberto Maroni |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 13 July 2009 | |
| Constituency | North-West Italy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 March 1973 Milan, Italy |
| Political party | Lega Nord |
| Other political affiliations |
Us with Salvini (2014–present) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | journalist |
| Website | www.matteosalvini.eu |
Matteo Salvini (Italian pronunciation: [matˈtɛo salˈvini]; born 9 March 1973, Milan) is an Italian politician and member of the European Parliament who has been the leader of the Lega Nord political party since December 2013 and of Us with Salvini since December 2014.[1]
Career
Early career
Salvini has been a member of Movimento Giovani Padani, Lega Nord's youth movement and deputy secretary of Lega Lombarda, along with Marco Reguzzoni. At the 1997 Padanian elections he was a candidate of the list Comunisti Padani (Padanian Communists).
From 1993 to 2012 he has been a member of the Milan City Council.
European Parliament
He was elected a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North-West region in 2004 and participated in the European Parliament as a part of the Non-Inscrits. He switched as a member of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in 2009 before switching back to the Non-Inscrits in 2014.[2]
He sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education, and was a substitute for the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and a member of the Delegation to the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee. He stood down from the European Parliament in November 2006.
After he was re-elected in 2009 as an MEP, he sat on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and is a member of the Delegation for Relations with India, and the Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula. He is a Substitute on the Committee on International Trade and the Delegation for Relations with South Africa.[2]
Head of Lega Nord
Since he took over leadership of the Lega Nord party in December 2013, he has "all but ditched Umberto Bossi's (never very convincing) Northern separatism" and shifted its focus to causes aligned with the European far right, represented by Marine Le Pen’s National Front of France such as being against illegal immigration and the euro.[1][3]
On 28 February 2015, Salvini led a rally in Rome together with far-right movement CasaPound.[4]
A recent Ipsos poll showed that his approval rating had increased by 5 percentage points, from 28% to 33%, "cementing his position as a rising political force in Italy".[5]
A SWG poll dated 5 March 2015 rates Salvini's party at 13.6%.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Squires, Nick (16 December 2013). "Independence for northern Italy and an end to euro, says Northern League leader". The Telegraph.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Your MEPs: Matteo SALVINI". Europa. European Parliament. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ↑ "Move over, Silvio". The Economist. 25 November 2014.
- ↑ Associated Press, "Italy's anti-immigrant movement brings protest rally to Rome", http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-2973389/Italys-anti-immigrant-movement-brings-protest-rally-Rome.html
- ↑ Rachel Sanderson; James Politi (December 2, 2014). "Italy’s new political star: Northern League leader Matteo Salvini". Financial Times.
- ↑ Termometro Politico, "Sondaggio SWG 6 marzo: avanzano Lega Nord e M5S, cala Forza Italia", http://www.termometropolitico.it/1163878_sondaggio-swg-6-marzo-avanzano-lega-nord-e-m5s-cala-forza-italia.html
External links
- Personal profile of Matteo Salvini in the European Parliament's database of members