This is an important book. Fathers of the Lega not only traces the historical and ideological roots of one of the oldest populist parties in Europe – the Lega Nord – but also integrates theoretical insights to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the contemporary, multifaceted faces of populism. The author challenges the dominant scholarly approach that views the Lega as a uniquely modern political actor and instead argues for its deeper historical lineage, dating back to northern Italy’s early regionalist movements of the 1940s and 1950s. Employing a dual methodological approach – historical sociology and political science – the book explores how crises have consistently shaped the evolution of populist regionalism in northern Italy, ultimately culminating in Matteo Salvini’s nationalist turn.
One of the book’s central contributions is its challenge to the perception of the Lega as a purely contemporary political phenomenon. By tracing the genealogy of leghismo back to the Piedmontese Movement for Regional Autonomy and the Bergamascan Movement for Autonomy, the author convincingly demonstrates that the Lega’s populist regionalism did not emerge in a vacuum but rather evolved from precedents rooted in the history of the postwar Italian Republic. This argument is particularly compelling because it disrupts the notion that the Lega’s regionalist discourse was solely a reaction to economic disparities between the North and South of Italy in the late twentieth century. Instead, the book illustrates how early regionalist movements framed their demands in ways that would later be echoed by the Lega.
By juxtaposing the political crises of the 1940s, the early 1990s and the 2010s, the book situates leghismo within a broader pattern of Italian political instability. The comparison between founder of the Lega Umberto Bossi’s strategic use of the corruption crisis of the First Republic and Salvini’s rebranding of the Lega during its internal crisis post-2012 effectively underscores the party’s ability to capitalise on moments of disruption. This historical approach adds depth to the study of populism by showing how specific repertoires of discourse – regional autonomy, anti-establishment rhetoric and nativism – have been reactivated cyclically.
One of the book’s strengths is its methodological triangulation, drawing from a variety of archival sources, speeches and political propaganda. This empirical rigour enhances the credibility of its claims and provides a rich historical narrative that moves beyond sociological or theoretical speculation. However, while the book successfully applies critical discourse studies to analyse the Lega’s discourse, it could have benefited from a deeper engagement with traditional historical methods to support its findings. For instance, the inclusion of electoral data trends or sentiment analysis of Lega-related media coverage over time could have reinforced its conclusions about shifting political identities.
In terms of populism and far-right studies, Fathers of the Lega makes further contributions. First, by demonstrating that the Lega’s ideological roots extend back to the immediate postwar period, the book encourages scholars to reconsider how political movements construct historical legitimacy. Second, it provides a valuable framework for understanding the relationship between populist regionalism and nationalism, highlighting how the Lega transformed from a regionalist movement advocating for autonomy to a nationalist party under Salvini, aligning itself with broader European far-right trends. This shift raises important questions about the interplay between regionalist grievances and nationalist rhetoric, an issue relevant beyond Italy in contexts such as Catalonia and Scotland. Finally, the book contributes to discourse analysis by illustrating how historical narratives are strategically deployed by political actors. The author’s analysis of how Bossi and Salvini selectively invoked historical precedents and myths to mobilise support and legitimise their political projects reveals the performative nature of populist discourse.
However, the exclusion of the Liga Veneta from the analysis – one of the earliest regionalist movements and one that played a crucial role in shaping leghismo – leaves a gap in understanding the broader development of northern Italian populist regionalism into populist nationalism. While the author justifies this omission by focusing on Piedmont and Lombardy, this decision limits the scope of the book’s historical narrative. Additionally, the book does not engage as deeply with the role of external factors such as European integration. Given that Salvini’s Lega has increasingly positioned itself against EU elites rather than Rome, a more detailed exploration of how European political dynamics influenced its transformation from regionalist to nationalist would have enriched the analysis.
That said, Fathers of the Lega is a significant scholarly contribution that successfully reinterprets the origins and transformations of leghismo through a historical and sociological lens. By challenging the dominant scholarly narrative, the book provides a more nuanced understanding of how political movements evolve in response to crises. While the research could have benefited from a broader geographical scope and a deeper engagement with external political factors, its core arguments remain compelling.
