The blue t-shirts with the white writing 'Io sto con Matteo' (I stand with Matteo) and the white ones with the green writing 'Lega Nord fino alla morte' (Lega Nord until death). In Pontida, while waiting for the party rally to begin, among the gazebos overlooking the large meadow – including one that stands out for its fundraising in support of Mario Roggero – the two souls of the Lega are comparing views: those who support secretary Matteo Salvini "always and to the end" and those calling for "his resignation." At the gazebo selling t-shirts in support of Salvini, which many are wearing, by nine in the morning they had "already taken three hundred pre-orders – explains Cristina from Limbiate – and we have another three hundred here ready to sell. Today this is the t-shirt to have and we should all wear it because we need to give our secretary a sense of trust. For us, the Lega is Matteo."
Livio Ghidelli, a long-standing party activist calling for the secretary's resignation, does not see it that way. And indeed he is wearing the 'Lega Nord until death' t-shirt. "This t-shirt sends a message that Salvini must go," he explains, "because he has distorted the Lega's identity, otherwise people don't understand what the difference is between voting for Vannacci and voting for Meloni. If Zaia comes in, we can recover thousands of votes overnight."
"The foreigner shall not pass" is the slogan appearing on the Pontida stage this year. Several posters recall Umberto Bossi, with "Thank you Umberto" and slogans against Europe, "More engines, less Green Deal," featuring a cardboard cutout of Von der Leyen. There is no shortage of signs supporting secretary Matteo Salvini, such as "There is no other leader but you" and "Pontida does not ask a name, it cries Salvini."
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