Matteo Salvini thanked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for attending the Lega's general assembly on Sunday. He stressed that this is the 30th anniversary meeting of the party.
"For the first time, we will be joined by delegations arriving from Hungary, Vienna, Madrid, Prague and Lisbon, and we will also receive video messages from Brazil and Paris," he added. He noted that the presence of the Hungarian Prime Minister proves that "we are gaining strength and what appeared to be only a distant dream - the creation of an international patriotic movement - has become a reality".
The deputy prime minister and party leader had invited his allies to Pontida because the prosecutor's office had pushed for him to serve a six-year prison sentence for ordering the interception of a civilian boat carrying migrants back in 2019 when he was interior minister.
"This is serious, I risk being put in prison merely for doing my duty of protecting the borders. This is a common mission in Europe, as it is in America and in many other parts of the world: the duty to fight illegal immigration and human trafficking," he said. He noted that if a politician who stopped illegal immigration is convicted, it will mean a problem not only in Italy but also in Europe: "from the next day, we will have to open the gates to migrants".
In addition to migration, Matteo Salvini considers maintaining peace the main challenge, noting that if the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine cannot be stopped, the risk of a world war is real.
The Lega Party has been holding its rallies in Pontida, Lombardy, since 1990 and has been led by Matteo Salvini since 2014. On Saturday, representatives of the Patriots for Europe parties' youth organizations spoke. On Sunday, Geert Wilders, president of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), Marlene Svazek, vice president of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), Jose Antonio Fuster, spokesperson of the Spanish Vox, Andre Ventura, the Portuguese Chega Party chief, will also be present.
The speeches by the youth sections were opened by Dora Hidas, head of Hungary's Fidelitas Foreign Affairs Cabinet.
"These are historic times, and we young people cannot sit back. The youth organizations of Patriots for Europe must join forces and reach a higher level of organization along common positions," she said.
Dora Hidas stressed that the liberals are doing their utmost to abolish national cultures and allow illegal migrants to enter Europe. "Matteo Salvini is being threatened with prison and Hungary with hefty fines for defending not only Hungarian but also European borders," she stated.
During the speech by US Republican delegate Lucca Ruggeri, a crowd of young people chanted Donald Trump's name. "Identity, sovereignty, freedom!" the youth of Lega shouted.
A giant stage with the slogan "Protecting borders is not a crime" is already set up in Pontida's square, where the event will close with speeches by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Cover photo: Italian Deputy Prime Minister and right-wing Lega Party President Matteo Salvini speaks to the press during the party's rally in Pontida, Bergamo, October 5, 2024. (Photo: MTI/EPA/ANSA/Michele Maraviglia)
