Salvini Grasps Whip Hand in Italy and Sets Sights on Top Job
- League leader started out as junior partner to Five Star
- Latest polls show Salvini’s party opening up four-point lead
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As the Italian government tacks back and forth with its budget plans, League leader Matteo Salvini is winning the broader struggle for control of the populist coalition.
Salvini has upstaged and outmaneuvered Luigi Di Maio of the Five Star Movement every step of the way since March’s election to set the agenda on immigration, foreign policy and even the economy. After trailing his partner by 16 points on polling day, Salvini has opened up a consistent, if narrow lead in most recent surveys. An SWG poll published Sept. 3 gave the League 32.2 percent support, compared with 28.3 percent for Five Star, its biggest advantage yet.