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Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of its far-right League party, will host a gathering of European far-right parties in Milan.
Salvini is attempting to position himself as the leader of Eurosceptic, populist forces in Europe, but it remains unclear whether or not any kind of formal coalition will work, given the differences between parties and the tangled web of alliances already at play inside the European parliament.
Europe's rightwing populists are in power in Italy, Hungary, Austria and Poland and are riding high in several countries including France and the Netherlands, and, according to polls, will make significant advances in May's elections. However, they are not predicted to form a majority and most badysts believe they will struggle to present a united front.
Italian media reported that far-right parties from as many as 20 countries were invited to the event, due to be held on Monday at a luxury hotel in Milan. A spokesperson for the League may be waiting, saying only that "further details would be provided within the next days".
Salvini said last week that partners in other EU countries have been "calling me" to initiate cooperation. "The difference between us and others is that they have to go to alliances … but the League invites us to move on to the next year.
Salvini has been Italy's deputy prime minister since last summer and his rightwing coalition continues to prosper, winning elections in the southern region of Basilicata last week, ending 24 years of leftwing rule. "Goodbye to the left, and now to change Europe," he tweeted after the victory.
The League's manifesto for the European elections said it will "underline and reaffirm common Christian roots, defend national identity and the supremacy of the Italian constitution over European laws and directives". It also strongly opposes immigration, increasing European integration and austerity policies.
Salvini has made a number of attempts to take his message beyond the borders of Italy. He traveled to Warsaw in January, where he held meetings with Jarosław Kaczyński, Head of Law and Justice, and others in the rightwing ruling party. He spoke of the two countries launching a "European spring" that could end the "Germany-France axis" of domination on the continent.
However, these talks have yet to grow into formal cooperation. Policy difficulties on issues such as Russia are one reason an alliance could prove tricky. Salvini has praised President Vladimir Putin, while the Polish ruling party is hawkish on Russia. "Said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the Center for European Reform.
French far-right leader Marine The Pen has previously backed the idea of expanding the alliance between its National Rally (RN) and Salvini's League into a "grand coalition" of nationalist forces capable of wielding real clout in the European parliament. The French far-right party's election poster feature The Pen and Salvini side by side, with the slogan: "Our ideas are coming to power."
The Pen's European parliament grouping, Europe of Nations and Freedom, currently has 36 seats in the 751-member European Parliament and is the smallest group in the chamber, having been shunned by other rightwing parties as too extreme.
The Penalty is not planning to attend the Milan gathering, but it is said to be a spokesperson for the National Rally (RN).
Another possibility is that of a formal alliance between Salvini and Hungary's far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who has been referred to Salvini as a "hero in my eyes" and welcomed the Italian to visit this.
Orbán's Fidesz party is still a member of the center-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping in Brussels, despite a recent suspension from the bloc due to its anti-Brussels rhetoric and concerns over rule of law. Party insiders believe that it will not be possible to travel to Milan next week. So far, Orbán has appeared, but has floated the possibility of an alliance with Salvini after the elections.
"After the European elections, in Fidesz we'll decide what is best for Hungary: Whether we should continue within the People's Party or whether we place it in the new alliance," Orban said last month.
He said Italy was the only big European country that has a government that is also dedicated to stopping migration. "Perhaps this explains the hopes we attach to the Italians," he said.
Many of the meetings took place, including 2018 in Nice, where The Pen hosted a gathering of Geert Wilders of the Dutch party for Freedom (PVV), of Austria's Freedom Party and the Czech nationalist Tomio Okamura.
There was no immediate confirmation from their side that he would be rival in the Netherlands, Thierry Baudet of the Forum for Democracy, would be attending the meeting in Milan. A spokesperson for Germany's right-wing AfD party said it would be sending a representative to the event but declined to elaborate further.
Additional reporting by Kate Connolly in Berlin
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