WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is visiting Warsaw to meet with Poland’s powerful ruling party leader as well as his Polish counterpart, as their populist-nationalist parties explore a possible alliance in spring elections for the European Parliament.
The May elections are shaping up into a battle between pro-EU forces under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron and populist euroskeptics led by Salvini.
Salvini’s planned meeting Wednesday with Polish ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski is being watched for signs of whether the Italian firebrand can effectively mount a nationalist challenge at the European level.
Salvini’s League and Kaczynski’s Law and Justice party are both staunchly anti-migrant and criticize how the European Union functions.
However, Poland’s skepticism of Salvini’s friendly approach to Russia could be an impediment to collaboration.
