MILAN — Italian far-right-leader Matteo Salvini says Monday that his coalition has the “right and the duty” to govern the country after taking 37 percent of the vote in the weekend election.
“This is an extraordinary victory,” the leader of the anti-immigrant League party tells a press conference in Milan.
“We have the right and the duty to govern over the coming years.”
Italian far-right Lega party leader Matteo Salvini gives the thumbs up at the Lega headquarters in Milan on March 5, 2018.(AFP Photo/Piero Cruciatti)
The euroskeptic leader says that he would hold talks “in the coming hours” with the rest of his coalition, in particular Forza Italia party leader and former premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Salvini says he is “committed to the deal” within the right-wing coalition that whichever party came away with the most votes would nominate the future prime minister.
“I’m not saying it has to be me, but our team is ready,” he says, adding that “deals between friends are kept.”
Salvini’s League party largely outperformed Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Go Italy) party, taking 18% of the vote compared to 14% for the media tycoon.
The coalition is short of a majority, however, and will need to make alliances to govern.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 5, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
