Lega Lombarda

Infobox_Italian_political_party
name_english = Lega Lombarda

leader =
leader1_title = Secretary
leader1_name = Giancarlo Giorgetti
leader2_title = President
leader2_name = Roberto Castelli
leader3_title =
leader3_name =
leader4_title =
leader4_name =
foundation = 12 April 1984
dissolution =
headquarters =
newspaper = none
membership_year=
membership = "unknown"
ideology = Federalism, Fiscal federalism, Regionalism
coalition = with The People of Freedom
international = "none"
european = "none"
europarl = Union for Europe of the Nations
website = http://www.naz-lombardia.leganord.org
colorcode = red

The Lega Lombarda (Lombard League, LL) is a regionalist Italian political party active in Lombardy.

History

Lega Lombarda was officially founded on 12 April 1984 by Umberto Bossi, who used the resonance of the name of the historical "Lega Lombarda" when choosing the name: its original title was Lega Autonomista Lombarda (Lombard Autonomist League, LAL), changed into the current one in 1986. At its electoral debut in the 1987 general election, Lega Lombarda won 2.6% of the votes in Lombardy and got elected Bossi to the Senate and Giuseppe Leoni to the Chamber of Deputies.

The party participated to the 1989 European Parliament election as the leading member of the coalition Lega Lombarda – Alleanza Nord (8.1% in Lombardy and two MEPs elected). In 1989-1990 it took part in the process of federating the Northern regionalist parties, ahead of the regional elections. In February 1991 it merged into Lega Nord and since then it is the regional section of that party in Lombardy.

After Bossi and Luigi Negri, the party was led by Roberto Calderoli to its best result ever in the 1996 general election, when it gained 25.5%. Calderoli was replaced as national secretary by Giancarlo Giorgetti.

Members

As Bossi is the federal secretary of Lega Nord since 1991, Lega Lombarda is currently led by Giancarlo Giorgetti (national secretary) and Roberto Castelli (national president). The party has also two deputy secretaries: Matteo Salvini and Marco Reguzzoni.

The party is represented in the Italian Parliament by 25 deputies (including Bossi, Giorgetti and Roberto Maroni) and 11 senators (including Leoni, Castelli and Roberto Calderoli), in the Regional Council of Lombardy by 15 regional deputies (including President Ettore Albertoni) and in the European Parliament by Francesco Speroni and Bossi himself. Lega Lombarda controls also three Provinces of Lombardy (Varese, Como and Sondrio), and the Mayorships of Varese, Lecco and Monza.

The party has three ministers in the regional government and five members of the Berlusconi IV Cabinet: Roberto Maroni is Minister of the Interior, Umberto Bossi of Reforms and Federalism, Roberto Calderoli of Legislative simplification, Roberto Castelli is Under-Secretary of Infrastructures and Daniele Molgora of Economy and Finances.

Popular support

The party has its stongholds in the northern and mountain provinces of Lombardy. In the 2008 general election it won 25.0% in Varese, 26.1% in Como, 25.4% in Lecco, 35.9% in Sondrio, 31.2% in Bergamo and 27.2% in Brescia.

The electoral results of Lega Lombarda in Lombardy are shown in the table below.

Leadership

*National Secretary: Umberto Bossi (1984–1993), Luigi Negri (1993–1995), Roberto Calderoli (1995–2002), Giancarlo Giorgetti (2002–...)
*National President: Giuseppe Leoni (1984–1989), Franco Castellazzi (1989–1991), Francesco Speroni (1991–1993), Roberto Calderoli (1993–1995), Giuseppe Leoni (1995–1999), Stefano Galli (1999–2002), Roberto Castelli (2002–...)

External links

* [http://www.naz-lombardia.leganord.org Official website]