Matteo Salvini is Italy's deputy prime minister and the leader of the League, a hard-right party. He is one of three coalition partners in the government of Giorgia Meloni, alongside her Brothers of Italy and the centre-right Forza Italia.
Pro-Russian sympathies: Mr Salvini is the most pro-Russian figure in the Italian government. At a meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 2015 he wore a T-shirt emblazoned with Vladimir Putin's face. He once said he would like to have Mr Putin as Italy's prime minister "tomorrow". On joining Ms Meloni's avowedly pro-Ukrainian coalition in 2022, he toned down the hero-worship, but since Donald Trump's return to power he has been more outspoken, saying Ukraine cannot win the war and calling on Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with Mr Putin without "getting touchy". He opposes the deployment of European troops in Ukraine, mocking Emmanuel Macron with the words: "You go there if you want. Put your helmet on, your jacket, your rifle and you go to Ukraine."
Electoral position: Polls put support for the League at around 9%, compared with 29% for Ms Meloni's Brothers of Italy. Mr Salvini faces internal pressure from his rival and deputy party leader, Roberto Vannacci, an outspoken former general who has said: "Between Putin and Zelensky, I choose Putin."
Consent law: In mid-November 2025 the lower house of parliament unanimously passed a law requiring explicit consent to engage in sex. Mr Salvini's League then withdrew its support, stalling the bill in the Senate. Laura Boldrini, a former speaker of parliament from the centre-left Democratic Party who championed the bill, accused Mr Salvini of staging a political stunt to outflank Ms Meloni's Brothers of Italy, saying he "acted as [a misogynistic part of society's] spokesman".
Sea Watch case: In 2019, while serving as interior minister, Mr Salvini blockaded the Italian island of Lampedusa to prevent Sea Watch, a migrant-rescue NGO, from docking. The skipper clipped a police vessel while trying to run the blockade. In the ensuing legal proceedings, courts freed the skipper, dismissed the charges and arraigned Mr Salvini for allegedly slandering her; his trial was scotched by parliament. In February 2026 a judge in Palermo ordered the state to pay €76,000 to Sea Watch to compensate for costs related to the temporary seizure of one of its ships.
Diplomatic manoeuvres: In a move seen as a concession to Mr Salvini, Ms Meloni nominated Stefano Beltrame, his former diplomatic adviser, as Italy's ambassador to Moscow.
Working with Julie Andrews is like getting hit over the head with a valentine.