Salvini rallies supporters, demands election date in Italy

POLICORO, Italie: Italy’s hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini embarked on a southern tour to rally support on Saturday, demanding an election date be set after he pulled out of the coalition government, plunging the country into a political crisis.

“The only thing I am interested in is that we fix a date for the election. Italians need to know when they can vote for a new government,” Salvini said, taking selfies of himself among a crowd in the southern town of Policoro.

He urged lawmakers to decide quickly, saying he was ready and willing “to give Italy a courageous, stable government which will last 10 years.”

Salvini told Rai Uno television on Friday that he had had enough of working with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) led by Luigi di Maio and what he said was its refusal to work together on key issues during their 14-month alliance.

“I am in Puglia, I am meeting workers, farmers, they want a government which ensures certainty for investors,” he said.

Taking his message to the beaches at the height of the summer holiday season, Salvini is seeking to build on the League’s strong showing in May’s European Parliament elections when it won 34 percent of the vote, twice that of the M5S.