Italy’s Salvini to Tap Veteran European Lawmaker as Minister

(Bloomberg) -- Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini is set to pick Lorenzo Fontana, a veteran European lawmaker, as Italy’s new minister for European affairs, according to three League officials who declined to be named discussing a confidential issue.

It’s a surprise move that would sideline Alberto Bagnai, a leading critic of the single currency who has roiled financial markets with his attacks on Brussels. The decision could come as soon as Thursday when the cabinet meets. Both candidates are members of Salvini’s anti-immigration League party.

Fontana’s office declined to comment.

Fontana, 39, is currently minister for families and the disabled. He served as a member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2018, and is a former deputy-speaker of the lower house of parliament in Rome and deputy-mayor of Verona.

Like Bagnai, Fontana has criticized the euro, calling it a hybrid currency which gives certain euro zone members an unfair advantage while penalizing Italy. He is, however, in favor of keeping Italy in the euro, in line with the policy of the ruling coalition.

Salvini’s Choice

The European affairs portfolio is currently held by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on an interim basis after euro-bashing economist Paolo Savona resigned to take the top job at market regulator Consob. The choice of replacement falls to Salvini given the League’s win in May’s European parliamentary elections, officials said.

The ministry handles networking at national level on the European Union lawmaking process and oversees incorporation of EU rules into the Italian legislation system, as well as coordinating on single market-related issues.

Bagnai, who heads the Italian Senate finance committee, has written two books calling for the end of Europe’s monetary union. He was elected with the League in Italy’s national ballot last year. Bagnai was tapped for the ministerial post but Fontana is preferred because of his EU career, two of the officials said.

Fontana has repeatedly sparked controversy with his positions on issues including homosexuality and abortion.

Describing himself as a Catholic, he told newspaper Corriere della Sera in a June 2018 interview that rainbow families “don’t exist for the law today” and that a child must have a father and a mother. Fontana added that he wanted to strengthen counseling services “to dissuade women from aborting.”

To contact the reporters on this story: John Follain in Rome at jfollain2@bloomberg.net;Lorenzo Totaro in Rome at ltotaro@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Flavia Krause-Jackson, Jerrold Colten

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