Italian election: 'Italy's Farage' could be next PM and spearhead anti-EU REBELLION
A FIREBRAND Eurosceptic politician from Italy's Northern League party is poised to take the reigns in the key EU member state as coalitions begin to take shape ahead of the 4th of March election.
Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini bashes 'authoritarian' EU
The upcoming Italian election has seen the return of Silvio Berlusconi and his party Forza Italia, in the run with a coalition with right-wing parties The Northern League and Fratelli d’Italia.
Silvio Berlusconi hosted Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni in his villa in Arcore to discuss the upcoming Italian election.
Four hours later he announced a coalition that could see the anti-euro leader Matteo Salvini as Italy's next Prime Minister.
A ban by the European Court of Human Rights on Silvio Berlusconi taking office after a sex scandal in 2011 would prevent the former Prime Minister to lead the country again. This makes Salvini the front runner to take the reigns of power if the coalition win.
The newly announced coalition has at its core a shared anti-European Union sentiment as well as the introduction of tax cuts and tougher immigration controls.
In the latest poll by Emg, the coalition is favoured by the 36.1 per cent against the 28.4 per cent for the centre-left and the 28.2 per cent for the Five Star Movement.
Matteo Salvini's strong stance against the European Union drew comparisons to Nigel Farage's view of the Brussels block during the Brexit Leave campaign.
Mr Salvini’s position on the euro caused panic in Brussels when he claimed the currency is a failing experiment that is heading towards “catastrophe”.
Silvio Berlusconi predicts a return to the Lira in rare interview
Speaking late last year, Mr Salvini warned: “I believe that one single currency for 18 economies, each different in its own way, that just won’t work in the long term.
“But statistics here is more important than anything else.
“Look, since the introduction of the common currency Italy’s debt has risen by €900billion.
“Six Nobel Prize winners are unanimous in saying that this experiment has failed and we should not go any further down this road.
“Yes, we understand that there is no way to hold a referendum on the euro. But we are determined to become part of the government and that is why we invited economists to figure out what we should do when the euro collapses since we should not rule out this possibility, what to do to prevent a catastrophe.”
In an interview with Radio 24, Mr Salvini said he also hopes to legalise prostitution in Italy which he claimed would generate an extra 15 per cent of taxable income.
He proposed the Government could use the extra income generated by regulated prostitution to fund free childcare for working parents in need of help.