Deputy premier wins secret ballot against Garavaglia with 76 per cent of the vote, drops his name from the party logo and vows to push for an end to arms and money for Ukraine.Italy’s deputy premier Matteo Salvini was re-elected leader of the right-wing Lega on Sunday, winning a fourth term that runs until 2030.  He defeated senator Massimo Garavaglia by 465 votes to 146 in a secret ballot at the party’s extraordinary congress in Milan, a share of about 76 to 24 per cent. A total of 611 delegates voted.   The result was widely expected, but it came after months of criticism of Salvini’s leadership, including in the party’s northern heartlands. Garavaglia, a former tourism minister in Mario Draghi’s government, scraped together the minimum 80 signatures needed to stand only days before the vote. Most came from the northern Lombardia region around Milan, including from regional president Attilio Fontana and senate group leader Massimiliano Romeo.   Garavaglia called his result “good”, noting he had no organisation behind him, and said his candidacy gave a voice to different strands within the party.   Salvini resigned as party secretary on 12 October, along with his three deputies, so that he could stand again at a congress he had called himself. The move was seen as a bid to strengthen his mandate before the general election due in 2027, after a period of open challenges to his authority. Lega, part of Italy's governing right-wing coalition led by premier Giorgia Meloni, is currently polling at around 4 to 5 per cent. New logo and a return to federalism Salvini unveiled a new party symbol, replacing “Salvini premier” with “Lega Italia federale”. The logo retains the figure of Alberto da Giussano and revives a design used by the party's late founder Umberto Bossi in 1994. It is the first time in almost 10 years that Salvini's name has not appeared on the logo. The change also reflects the new electoral law, under which each coalition must name its candidate for prime minister.   Salvini said federalism was the party’s “past, present and future”. Fontana said the congress had accepted nearly all the demands from Lombardia, including a motion to put the northern question back at the centre of government debate. Romeo said the unrest had been real and not only in Lombardia. Luca Zaia, the Veneto regional council president, was called to the party’s federal secretariat, whose make-up will be announced in about two weeks. Reaction and Ukraine question Meloni congratulated Salvini on X and said the two would keep working together. Salvini told delegates that the Lega could win the election “at least” as the second party in the coalition, and that he would no longer tolerate it being treated as a junior partner in any region governed by the centre-right.   Salvini said that, with the congress’s backing, he would tell the cabinet that Italy cannot keep sending money and weapons to Ukraine. He said Italy had sent €90 billion and numerous arms packages over four years, and that wars are now ended at the negotiating table. He asked delegates to raise their hands in support.   News agency ANSA said coalition allies stayed largely silent and read the move as aimed at his own party. Writing on X, centrist Azione leader Carlo Calenda told Meloni and Antonio Tajani - leader of the governing centre-right Forza Italia - that they must either abandon Ukraine or abandon Salvini. Calenda said the latter of the two options would see the centro destra "benefit significantly".   Salvini also attacked journalists, branding some of them “servants” and saying he had asked organisers to keep reporters on a floor below the delegates. Carlo Bartoli, president of Italy's Order of Journalists, said Salvini divides reporters into servants and friends, as totalitarian regimes do, and called on him to withdraw the insults. The Parliamentary Press Association also expressed dismay at the denial of media access.   Salvini’s win keeps him in charge of Lega as Italy heads towards a general election, but Garavaglia’s roughly one-quarter share and the northern grievances voiced at the congress suggest the party’s divisions have not gone away. His stance on Ukraine also sets up a potential clash with Meloni’s government, which has consistently backed Kyiv.   Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com