End of EU? Italian election frontrunner pledges to free Italy from ‘devastating’ Brussels

The leader of the League Party criticised the for issuing directives deepening the economic divide between the North and South of Italy.

Mr Salvini, a frontrunner in the 2018 Italian general election, has been serving as a member of the European Parliament (EP) since 2004 and has repeatedly expressed criticism towards the Brussels’ administration.

He said: “We always contribute to the creation of directives which we are then able to apply to one part of the country only.

“Why do we want a country founded on autonomy and federalism? Because centralised management in Brussels has penalised Northern and devastated the South of the country.”

Presenting his political manifesto to the top dogs of Milan’s business sector, Mr Salvini pledged to reform Italy’s membership with the European Union in order to strengthen the country’s poor economy.

He continued: “We want the economies of the North and the South to come closer again.”

Mr Salvini is also expected to be the frontrunner for leader of a newly announced pre-election coalition with Silvio Berlusconi. 

Due to a ban by the European Court of Human Rights on the former Prime Minister, Mr Berlusconi will not be able to present himself as his party candidate, but can still control the party from the backbench. 

But the pair has already clashed on several matters, including the future relationship between Italy and the European Union.

Mr Berlusconi flew to Brussels to attend meetings with both EU Commission President  and EP President Antonio Tajani to gather their support during the March 4 election, sparking a less-than-impressed response from his coalition partner.

Mr Salvini said: “Italy doesn’t need guarantors. We are a free and sovereign Republic walked on by Brussels and Berlin’s interests. Italians need to be protected from it.”