Umberto Bossi, the founder of Italy’s Northern League and a prominent figure in Italian politics for decades, has died at the age of 84. His passing marks the end of an era for the party he established and a complex legacy of regionalism, populism, and shifting political alliances.
Bossi founded the Northern League in the late 1980s, a period of crisis for Italy’s post-World War II political system. He first entered the Senate in 1987 and remained a fixture in Italian and European parliaments until his death. The League initially gained traction among slight and medium-sized businesses in northern Italy, particularly during a time of slowing economic growth.
In its early years, the Northern League advocated for the secession of the Padania region – the area of northern Italy encompassing the Po Valley – from Rome, and often expressed hostile sentiments toward Italians from the south. Bossi himself frequently chanted slogans against what he termed a “thieving Rome,” while supporters symbolically “cheered on Vesuvius,” hinting at their vision for the future of Naples. The party similarly sought to revive perceived pagan and Celtic roots, with celebrations of the god of the Po River becoming a central ritual.
Bossi and the Northern League maintained an anti-establishment stance through the mid-1990s. In 1994, the League formed a coalition with Silvio Berlusconi, then a new force in Italian politics and a media magnate. However, the alliance was short-lived, and the first Berlusconi government collapsed due to the League’s opposition. The two leaders would later reconcile, forming a coalition that won parliamentary elections in 2001, and 2008.
The alliance with Berlusconi and the subsequent attainment of parliamentary and government positions led to a transformation of the Northern League. The party abandoned its calls for Padanian secession, instead focusing on federalizing Italy and reducing tax transfers from the north to the south. Under Bossi’s leadership, rhetoric against migrants and Muslims also became more prominent. Bossi, who faced prosecution early in his career for allegedly insulting the Italian flag – claiming he “wiped his backside with the Italian tricolor” – served as a minister in several Berlusconi governments.
However, the economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century and a subsequent scandal involving party financing proved to be Bossi’s undoing. In 2012, media reports revealed that Bossi and his close associates had used state funding allocated for election campaigns for personal expenses. This led to his resignation as leader of the party he founded.
Bossi attempted a return to the party leadership in 2013, but was defeated in a primary election by Matteo Salvini. Salvini subsequently transformed the Northern League into a national party, focusing on issues such as opposition to migration and resistance to the European Union, while downplaying the issue of northern autonomy – a move that continues to draw criticism from some party members. The League, having dropped the “Northern” from its name, now has branches in Naples and Sicily, a development once considered unthinkable.
Bossi, known for his penchant for posing in a tank top and with a cigar during the summer months, had suffered from health problems for many years, though he returned to high politics after a stroke in 2004. He died today, at the age of 84.
