Pontida, Salvini announces a demonstration to defend Western civilization. Vannacci: "No mixed-race society."

Matteo Salvini opened his speech by asking the Lega supporters of Pontida to dedicate "not a minute of silence, but a thought for Charlie Kirk and a round of applause that could reach all the way to Arizona ." Immediately afterward, images of the Trump activist killed in the US were projected onto the screen on the stage.

The League secretary and deputy prime minister began by saying: "My thoughts go to the man painted as a target and shot dead, who leaves behind a wife and two little girls."

The main theme of the annual Lega Nord rally on the Pontida lawn is precisely the denunciation of the climate of hatred and violence that right-wing activists believe is growing globally, and here the chosen slogan is indeed "Without fear." The young Lega Nord activists aspire to become the "heirs" of the activist Maga, killed in Utah. And then there are the usual Lega Nord issues: security, the fight against illegal immigration, and a particular focus on the far North, which seeks to remain the beating heart of the party, which seeks to cultivate ties with its territorial and activist soul.

"Today, in many European capitals, the law is applied by Islamic courts in the name of Sharia, not local laws," said Salvini, who also returned to the theme of non-intervention in ongoing wars. "Italy is against war, and we will never send our children and grandchildren to fight and die in Ukraine." And again: " From tomorrow, I ask the League's administrators to submit a motion in all Italian municipalities to demonstrate the parties' views in all municipalities ."

And Salvini does not forget two people to whom he knows he owes a lot: " Silvio Berlusconi , a giant who changed Italy, said: 'Love always wins over envy and hate.' Together with another unique and brilliant man who from nothing gave strength and hope back to millions of Italians, Umberto Bossi , to whose house Pontida's embrace arrives."

Among the main Italian guests are the ministers and governors of the League: Luca Zaia, Attilio Fontana, Massimiliano Fedriga , the parliamentary group leaders Riccardo Molinari and Massimiliano Romeo, and the four deputy secretaries Alberto Stefani, Roberto Vannacci, Silvia Sardone and Claudio Durigon.

Among the international guests were Jordan Bardella, president of the French National Rally; Santiago Abascal, president of Vox and the European Patriots Party; and Flávio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian senator and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years for attempted subversion.

Stefani, the League's candidate in Veneto, speaks out for the first time.

Alberto Stefani also took the stage in Pontida for the first time today. The young MP from Borgoricco (Padua) is one of Salvini's federal deputy secretaries and the party's secretary in Veneto, as well as the League's candidate to succeed Luca Zaia as president in the upcoming regional elections. Stefani, like everyone else, was given about five minutes. Before handing the stage over to former general Vannacci, he concluded his remarks with a "Viva San Marco."