Geert Wilders to Attend Lega Meeting with Salvini and Orban

rome - PVV leader Geert Wilders will participate in the annual Lega meeting in Pontida with Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orban on October 6th.

PVV leader Geert Wilders will join the annual Lega meeting in Pontida with Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orban on October 6th.

"Thank you my friend Geert Wilders, I look forward to seeing you in Pontida!" replied Salvini. The two politicians have had a good relationship for years.

Wilders and Salvini are both part of the European right-wing coalition Identity and Democracy, which also includes Marine Le Pen of Rassemblement National. Orban is the Prime Minister of Hungary.

Lega has been organizing annual meetings in Pontida for over thirty years. It started with party leader Umberto Bossi of Lega Nord using a large field in the town to address his supporters every year. The party was initially separatist, advocating for the wealthy North of Italy to secede from the rest of the country. Bossi demanded his supporters wear green shirts, which they did in large numbers.

Salvini later took over from Bossi and renamed the party Lega in December 2017, transforming it into a national party. The separatist agenda was abandoned, and the party now focuses primarily on combating illegal immigration.

Earlier this month, Salvini faced a six-year prison sentence demand for his actions as Minister of Interior in 2019, when he prevented migrants from a ship operated by the NGO Open Arms from disembarking on the Southern Italian island of Lampedusa. They were forced to stay at sea for three weeks before being allowed ashore, receiving food, drinks, and medicine during that time. The Public Prosecutor argued that Salvini's decision violated international law.

The Lega leader defended his actions, stating that he had the right and duty to defend Italy's borders against illegal immigration. Salvini's tough stance against mass immigration from North Africa and NGO rescue ships made him extremely popular among the Italian population. Prime Minister Meloni, a coalition partner of Lega, called the prison sentence demand against Salvini absurd and supported him on this matter. Salvini currently serves as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in the Meloni government.