Le Pen Likens Fight to Martin Luther King
Florence, Italy, April 6, 2025 – Italy’s Lega party wrapped its federal congress at Florence’s Fortezza da Basso on Sunday, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini re-elected as secretary for a third term—unopposed—and delivering a symbolic party membership card to controversial MEP Roberto Vannacci. The event, a two-day showcase of sovereigntist solidarity, peaked with a surprise video appearance from France’s Marine Le Pen, who told Salvini, “Our fight is like Martin Luther King’s—peaceful and democratic,” drawing applause and a few raised eyebrows from the 400 delegates.
Vannacci Joins the Fold
Sunday’s spotlight fell on Vannacci, the retired general whose 2023 book Il mondo al contrario—slamming “LGBT lobbies” and multiculturalism—catapulted him to fame and over 500,000 votes in the 2024 European elections as an independent Lega candidate. After months of speculation, Salvini handed him the Lega card at 9:30 a.m. PDT (6:30 p.m. local time), sealing his formal entry. “I’m proud to deliver this to Roberto—a response to our people and the doubters. We’ll go far together,” Salvini declared, per La Stampa. Vannacci, grinning, thanked him for the “friendly pat on the shoulder,” adding, “Critics are the manure of progress.”
The move, livestreamed on Lega’s X account, stirred the hall—some cheered, others, like Veneto Governor Luca Zaia, stayed muted. Zaia had questioned Vannacci’s fit Saturday, per Il Fatto Quotidiano, but the new party statute—allowing outsiders quick ascent—paved the way. Posts on X buzzed: “Vannacci’s in—Lega’s hard right turn locked,” one user noted, while another quipped, “From general to Salvini’s soldier.”
Le Pen’s King Moment
Marine Le Pen, Rassemblement National’s leader, stole the show via video-link at 10:00 a.m. PDT, fresh off a Paris march against her March 31 embezzlement conviction—four years in prison, five years ineligible for office. Facing Salvini’s questions, she framed her legal woes as a democratic assault: “This violence against me is against the French people. We’ll fight like Martin Luther King—peacefully, with every legal tool, to run in the presidential race.” The crowd roared, though her King analogy sparked X snickers: “Le Pen as MLK? Beyond comedy,” one post jabbed.
Salvini, nodding, called it “ironic that Brussels lectures on democracy while stealing it,” tying her plight to Romania’s sidelined candidates and Germany’s parliamentary games, per Repubblica. Le Pen’s “your support moves me” earned a standing ovation, cementing her as the congress’s martyr du jour.
A Sovereigntist Parade
The congress, opened Saturday by Elon Musk’s video urging a U.S.-EU free-trade zone, doubled as a sovereigntist flex. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders sent clips, while Confindustria’s Emanuele Orsini spoke live Sunday. A rumored Giorgia Meloni video didn’t materialize—Forza Italia’s Antonio Tajani had nixed Lega’s push to reinstall Salvini at the Interior Ministry, per La Stampa. Salvini’s closing speech hit his classics: flat taxes (15% aiding 2 million, per Armando Siri), EU skepticism, and a nod to the North amid Vannacci’s southern ambitions.
As Trump’s tariffs tank markets and floods drown the Midwest, Lega’s Florence finale—Vannacci carded, Le Pen lionized—signals Salvini’s bet on a harder right, with MLK as an unlikely muse. “We’ll delay the change, not stop it,” he vowed, eyes on 2025’s battles.
If you’d like me to tweak this—like diving into Vannacci’s role or Le Pen’s speech—let me know! What’s next?
