Supporters Of Lega Start Gathering In Milan For Major Right-Wing Rally Despite Bad Weather

Supporters of the Italian Lega party, led by Deputy Prime and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, started gathering in Milan's Duomo Square despite the bad weather, with some of the party members expecting up to 100,000 participants, a Sputnik correspondent reporte

MILAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2019) Supporters of the Italian Lega party, led by Deputy Prime and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, started gathering in Milan's Duomo Square despite the bad weather, with some of the party members expecting up to 100,000 participants, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Salvini is holding a major rally in Milan on Saturday ahead of the approaching EU elections, set for May 23-26. He is joined by 11 right-wing European parties' representatives, among them leader of the French National Rally Marine Le Pen, Alternative for Germany's (AfD) co-leader George Meuthen and the Dutch Party's for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders.

"Last year, the weather was the same, and the square was full. There were around 100,000 people. Today it is going to be the same," a local leader of Lega party from Puglia told Sputnik.

This Saturday, Milan is witnessing exceptionally bad weather with rain and low temperatures, unusual for Italians in May, which could affect attendance of the demonstration.

"Security measures are high, also because today there will be a number of counterrallies," she stressed.

Apart from Lega, AfD, the National Rally and PVV, the event is attended by the Bulgarian Will party, Slovak We Are Family party, Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy party, Estonian EKRE party, Belgian Vlaams Belang party, Danish People's Party, the Finns Party, and the Austrian Freedom Party.

"This participation [of European parties] gives an international importance to the event and to the idea of a more united Europe with politics moving to the right, with ideas that take care of the motherland, of nations," the local party leader said.

The slogan of the rally is "Italy first! Toward a Common Sense Europe." Salvini is seeking to build a pan-European bloc of right-wing parties ahead of the elections to the European Parliament, in which his party is projected to gain as many as 26 seats, which is a significant increase from the current six.