The architecture of the new Italian political era is taking shape. After having elected as president of the Senate an heir to post-fascism, Ignazio La Russa, of Brothers of Italy, today the right-wing coalition has voted as president of the Chamber of Deputies the former Minister of the League Lorenzo Fontana, known for his battles against abortion , LGBT rights and their pro-Russian messages.
Fontana, 42, is one of the representatives of the hard wing of the League and a political reference for the ultraconservatives. He was Minister of Family and European Affairs in the first Conte government, when he became known for declaring that “gay families do not exist before the law.” A recognized Catholic, he defends the “natural family, where a child must have a father and a mother” and also that women should be discouraged from having an abortion. He considers that abortion is “the leading cause of femicide in the world.” He also maintains crusades against euthanasia or the “Islamic invasion”
At an international level, he helped create the link between his great friend Matteo Salvini and the French far-right Marine Le Pen. His idols include Donald Trump – he wanted the League to act as a bridge between him and Vladimir Putin – and Viktor Orbán. He has also declared his sympathies for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), for the politicians who carried out Brexit in the United Kingdom or for Golden Dawn in Greece, a party declared a criminal organization that he considered “friends” in 2016. .
A recognized Eurosceptic, he is also passionate about Russian issues, and in 2014 he flew to Crimea as an international observer invited by the Kremlin. “The people of Crimea feel that they have returned to the mother house, the EU should take a step back on sanctions against Russia,” he then declared. He admired Putin as a “beacon for the West” for his protection of the traditional family and Christian “values.” And he maintained: “With gay unions they want to dominate us, we must follow the Russian model.”
“No to a pro-Putin homophone president,” read a banner displayed by the left in the Chamber of Deputies during his election. During his speech, Fontana made references to Pope Francis and also to the League’s founder, Umberto Bossi, and promised to respect the opposition in the legislature that is beginning.
Fontana was not the League’s first candidate for the state’s third position, but was initially expected to be appointed Riccardo Molinari, who will eventually continue as parliamentary speaker. After Thursday’s notorious confrontation between Silvio Berlusconi and Giorgia Meloni, which ended with the refusal to vote for La Russa in the Upper House, this time Forza Italia has supported the ultra-conservative. It remains to be seen whether Fontana’s old pro-Russian positions will be uncomfortable for Meloni, who is making great efforts to convince the world of his Atlanticist vocation and against Moscow.
The League and Brothers of Italy have divided the two Italian Parliamentary Chambers. It is the first step while tough negotiations continue to form the team of the next executive. Meloni is still looking for a new Economy Minister after the refusal of the technician Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive committee of the European Central Bank. The position could fall to Giancarlo Giorgetti, a member of the League, but an exponent of the more moderate area and far from the thoughts of its leader, Matteo Salvini. In return, Berlusconi’s number two, Antonio Tajani, would be foreign minister.
