Victory for Italy’s League in European elections gives the far-right party a mandate to push through tax cuts and fight for changes to the EU’s budgetary rules, its leader, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, said on Monday.
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Salvini’s party won 34.3% of the vote at Sunday’s election, doubling the score of its ally in the ruling coalition, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which took just 17.1% and was pushed into third place by the center left.
“The time has come to totally re-discuss old and outdated rules that have hurt Europe. Otherwise a vote like this cannot be explained,” Salvini said at a news conference in Milan.
Salvini, who spent much of the election campaign promising deep tax cuts in possible defiance of EU fiscal rules, showed no sign of backing down. Lower taxes were “the key issue” for Italians and would be the foundation of next year’s budget to be presented in the autumn, he said.
