Manuela Dal Lago
Who was the head of Liga Veneta from 2001 to 2008?
Liga Veneta Liga Veneta ( , English translation : Venetian League ) , whose complete name is Liga Veneta–Lega Nord ( Venetian League–Northern League ) , is a regionalist political party based in Veneto , Italy . The LV , which combines Venetian nationalism and support for fiscal federalism , was the first party of its kind in Northern Italy , predating Umberto Bossis Lega Lombarda by four years , and was a founding member of Lega Nord in 1991 . Since then , Liga Veneta has been a national section of the federal party , thus retaining legal status and some autonomy . In the 2010 regional election the LV was by far the largest party in Veneto with 35.2% of the vote and LVs Luca Zaia , who was supported also by The People of Freedom , was elected President of Veneto with 60.2% . In the 2015 regional election the LV improved its tally to 40.9% and Zaia , who counted also on the support of some minor parties , was re-elected with 50.1% . In the 2020 regional election the LV improved again its tally to 61.5% and Zaia was re-elected by a landslide 76.8% of the vote . History . Early years ( 1978–1989 ) . Liga Veneta was promoted in 1978 by Franco Rocchetta , a Venetian philologist who had been speaking of a Venetian league since 1968 . The party constitution , modelled on those of the Valdostan Union and the Radical Party , was officially signed by 14 founding members on 16 January 1980 in Padua and Achille Tramarin was elected national secretary . Shortly after , some hardliners , led by Luigi Faccia and Flavio Contin , left the party : in 1987 they would launch the Most Serene Venetian Government and in 1997 would organise the St Marks Campaniles assault ( see Venetian nationalism ) . Another split occurred in 1983 : Giulio Pizzatis Liga Federativa Veneta . In the 1983 general election the LV gained 4.3% in Veneto : Tramarin was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and Graziano Girardi to the Senate . In the Pedemontana , the area of the Padanian-Venetian Plain at the feet of the Venetian Prealps , the LV became the second largest party after then-dominant Christian Democracy ( DC ) . This party would be mostly damaged from the rise of the LV as both parties concurred for the support of the middle class . DC regional leader Antonio Bisaglia had proposed a regional party modelled on the Christian Social Union in Bavaria , but opposition from Rome and his sudden death stopped the plan . Soon after the election , a power struggle for the leadership of the party took place and the winner was Rocchetta , disappointed for his missed election , who had been behind the scenes up to that moment . Tramarin was replaced as national secretary by Marilena Marin , future wife of Rocchetta . In the 1984 European Parliament election the LV gained 3.3% in Veneto , but did not win seats . In the 1985 regional election the party obtained 3.7% and two regional councillors : Ettore Beggiato and Rocchetta . Liga Veneta Serenissima of Tramarin , expelled from the party by Marin , won a mere 0.2% of the vote and , since then , Rocchetta and Marin had the party in their hands . In the 1980s the party suffered also other two splits : that of the Union of the Venetian People ( UPV ) , formed by Beggiato ( who was joined by Tramarin and Girardi ) and that of the Veneto Autonomous Region Movement ( MVRA ) . The only counterweight to Rocchetta–Marin within the LV was thus represented by the Treviso wing , which then started to gain influence , under the leadership of Gian Paolo Gobbo and Mauro Michielon . In the next elections the LV and the UPV had similar showings . Foundation of Lega Nord ( 1989–1994 ) . In 1989 the partys charismatic leader , Rocchetta and his wife Marin , secretary of the party , managed to forge an alliance with Umberto Bossis Lega Lombarda for that years European Parliament election , Alleanza Nord . In 1989–1990 the LV took part in the process of federating the northern regionalist parties , ahead of the regional elections . In the 1990 regional election the LV and the UPV scored 5.9% and 1.9% , respectively . In the 1991 local elections the UPV passed the LV . Some attempts to merge the two parties into one failed , but from that point , thanks to the alliance with Bossi , Liga Venetas rise seemed unstoppable . In February 1991 the LV joined Lega Lombarda and other regionalist parties from every northern region to form Lega Nord ( LN ) and , since then , the LV has been the regional section of the party in Veneto . Bossi was elected federal secretary and Rocchetta federal president . Thanks to the federal structure of Lega Nord and to its ideology ( according to which Padania is a country formed of different nations : Veneto , Lombardy , Piedmont , etc. ) , the LV retained much of its autonomy . In the 1992 general election the LN scored 8.7% throughout Italy and the LV won 17.8% of the vote in Veneto , returning into the Italian Parliament after five years . The UPV and the MVRA both won 1.5% of the vote , while Lega Autonomia Veneta ( LAV ) , formed by the former Socialist mayor of Venice Mario Rigo , got 4.7% . The Venetist movement , divided as ever , together gained the support of about quarter of Venetian voters . Heyday and internal splits ( 1994–1998 ) . In the 1994 general election the LV won 21.6% of the vote in Veneto ( the LAV took 3.2% ) and three of its members joined Berlusconi I Cabinet : Rocchetta was undersecretary of Foreign Affairs , Mariella Mazzetto of Education and Giovanni Meo Zilio ( a former Socialist partisan during Italian resistance ) , of University and Research . Between 1994 and 1995 the LV was also part of the regional government for the first time , with Gobbo as Vice President . In July 1994 Marin was replaced by Fabrizio Comencini as national secretary of the party , while Gobbo was elected national president . Shortly after , in September , Rocchetta and Marin left the party in disagreement with Bossi and the new Venetian leadership . Rocchetta was replaced by Stefano Stefani , leading member of the LV , as federal president of Lega Nord in February 1995 . The exit of Rocchetta and Marin made possible the comeback of Beggiato into the party . Thanks to this the LV did not suffer a major setback in the 1995 regional election : 17.4% and 9 regional councillors elected . In the 1996 general election Bossi led Lega Nord to its strongest showing in a general election : with 10.1% of the vote , the party , present only in Northern Italy , became the fourth largest of the country . Comencinis Liga Veneta was the strongest national section of the League : it gained 29.3% of the vote in Veneto , 19 deputies and 9 senators , mostly elected in single-seat constituencies , in which the party , favoured by split-ticket voting , gained a total 32.8% of the vote . In 1994 the party won the mayorship of Treviso with Giancarlo Gentilini , and a year later it gained control of three provinces : Padua with Renzo Sacco , Verona with Antonio Borghesi and Treviso with Giovanni Mazzonetto . In 1997 the party won also in the province of Vicenza with Manuela Dal Lago , while Luca Zaia was elected President of the province of Treviso , replacing Mazzonetto , in 1998 . Also in 1998 Gentilini was re-elected mayor of Treviso . In 1998 Comencini left the party over disagreements with Bossi and formed a brand-new Venetist party named Liga Veneta Repubblica ( then Veneti dEuropa ) . Seven regional councillors out of nine followed Comencini into the new party , while Gobbo took over as national secretary of the LV , along with a new national president , Giuseppe Ceccato ( who left the party in 1999 ) . In the 1999 provincial elections the party lost the provinces of Padua and Verona . Decline and resurgence ( 1998–2006 ) . By 2000 the party started to recover from the schism of 1998 and took 12.0% of the vote in the 2000 regional election ( the combined score of Veneti dEuropa and Fronte Marco Polo , another split , was 3.7% ) , re-joining after five years the regional government . In the 2001 general election the LV won a mere 10.2% in Veneto , with 9 deputies and 4 senators elected , all in single-seat constituencies , thanks to the alliance with Forza Italia within the House of Freedoms coalition . After the election , Dozzo and Stefani joined Berlusconi II Cabinet as undersecretaries of Agriculture and Industry , respectively . In the 2002 provincial elections the party won for the second time in a row in Vicenza and Treviso . The province of Treviso confirmed itself as the most-leghista province of Italy and Zaia was re-elected Provincial President with more than 40% in the first round and with almost 70% in the run-off , although he had refused the support of Lega Nords allies in Rome and Venice , Forza Italia and National Alliance . Also in 2002 LVs Luciano Gasperini was elected federal president of Lega Nord . In a party congress in Vicenza , Gobbo was re-elected national secretary and Dal Lago was elected national president . In 2003 Gobbo was also elected mayor of Treviso . In the 2005 regional election the LV gained 14.7% of the vote , despite the presence of other two Venetist parties ( North-East Project and Liga Fronte Veneto , 5.4% and 1.2% respectively ) , and was decisive for the third re-election of Giancarlo Galan as President of Veneto . After the election , the LV joined the Galan III Government , with Zaia Vice President of the Region and minister of Agriculture and Tosi minister of Health . In the 2006 general election however , the party scored 11.1% and got elected 5 deputies and 3 senators . It was the worst result in terms of elected members in the Italian Parliament since 1987 , due to the narrow victory of the centre-left , which won the majority-premium for the Chamber of Deputies and to the presence of North-East Project ( 2.7% ) and of Liga Fronte Veneto ( 0.7% ) . In a provincial election Leonardo Muraro was elected President of the province of Treviso and the LV scored 29.2% ( combined result of party list , 15.6% , and Zaias personal list , 13.6% ) , despite a good result by the rival North-East Project ( 11.6% ) . Road to the leadership of Veneto ( 2006–2010 ) . In 2007 Tosi was elected mayor of Verona by a landslide ( 60.8% against the 33.9% of incumbent Paolo Zanotto ) , while in the provincial election of Vicenza Attilio Schneck succeeded to Dal Lago as President ( 60.0% , largely ahead of her main challenger , Pietro Collareda , who stopped at 17.2% ) . Both Tosi , who was the second leghista to become mayor of a big city after Marco Formentini in Milan between 1993 and 1997 , and Schneck were supported by the House of Freedoms coalition , but the LV had an excellent result in both races : in Vicenza it garnered 19.0% of the vote , while in Verona it ranked first among the parties with 28.4% ( combined score of party list , 12.0% , and Tosis personal list , 16.4% ) . In June 2007 , Tosi was replaced as regional minister of Health by Francesca Martini . In the 2008 general election the LV won a surprising 27.1% in Veneto , its best result since the 1996 election , getting 16 deputies and 7 senators elected . Meanwhile , Gobbo was re-elected mayor of Treviso with 50.4% of the vote , twice the score of his main opponent . The combined result of the LV and Giancarlo Gentilinis personal list was 35.4% . Subsequently , Zaia became minister of Agriculture and Martini undersecretary of Health in Berlusconi IV Cabinet . Federico Bricolo became floor leader of Lega Nord in the Senate . Zaia and Martini were thus replaced in the regional government by Franco Manzato and Sandro Sandri , respectively . In July 2008 the party held its national congress in Padua . Gobbo was re-elected for the fourth time national secretary , while Tosi replaced Dal Lago as national president . Tosi appeared to be also the standard-bearer of the party in view of the 2010 regional election , along with Zaia . In the 2009 European Parliament election the LV confirmed its strength , by gaining 28.4% and three MEPs : Lorenzo Fontana , a rising star from Verona , Giancarlo Scottà and Mara Bizzotto . The party also won two more provinces , Venice , a stronghold of the left , with Francesca Zaccariotto , and Belluno with Gianpaolo Bottacin . 2010 regional election and aftermath ( 2010–2012 ) . In December 2009 The People of Freedom ( PdL ) determined that the coalition candidate in the 2010 regional election would be a leghista . Subsequently , the national council of Liga Veneta nominated Zaia for President . Tosi , who , as party president , presided the council , tried to be himself the candidate , and others proposed instead Manzato . However , Zaia had a broader support than Tosi and was unanimously chosen by the council . In the election Zaia was elected President of Veneto by a landslide , with 60.2% of the vote against 29.1% of his foremost opponent , Giuseppe Bortolussi of the Democratic Party ( PD ) . The election was a triumph for the LV , which was by far the largest party in the region with 35.2% of the vote , up from 14.7% of five years before , and got 20 seats in the Regional Council , up from 11 . Zaia was also the most voted President of Veneto since direct election was introduced in 1995 . After the election , Zaia appointed a cabinet including six party members , a majority of whom were tosiani : Roberto Ciambetti ( Budget and Local Government ) , Luca Coletto ( Health ) , Maurizio Conte ( Environment ) , Marino Finozzi ( Tourism and International Trade ) , Franco Manzato ( Agriculture ) and Daniele Stival ( Venetian Identity and Civil Protection ) . In the 2011 provincial election of Treviso Muraro was easily re-elected president . The LV won 40.8% of the vote ( combined result of party list , 29.6% , and Muraros personal list , 11.4% ) , which was an 11.6% gain since the previous provincial election in 2006 , but also a 7.7% loss from the 2010 regional election . In late 2011 , after the fall of Berlusconis government , Lega Nord abandoned the alliance with the PdL . Perceiving that the party was entering a crisis , Giuseppe Covre ( a former mayor of Oderzo and MP ) and Marzio Favero ( mayor of Montebelluna and philosopher ) proposed a Manifesto for the League which will be . In its call for a cultural revolution and for a bottom-up restructuring of the party , the document was interpreted as a call for a new leadership , both at national and federal level . All throughout 2011 the faction around Tosi , close to Roberto Maroni at the federal level , won most provincial congresses in Veneto , including that of Treviso . Partys renewal and reform ( 2012–2015 ) . In early April 2012 a corruption scandal hit the magic circle around Bossi , who resigned from federal secretary of Lega Nord after 21 years . This had consequences also in Veneto : a national congress was scheduled for 2–3 June 2012 and , after fourteen years on top , Gobbo decided to step down from secretary . Tosi , just re-elected mayor of Verona with 57.4% of the vote ( three times his closest opponent Michele Bertucco , who got a mere 22.8% ) , started his bid for the partys national leadership . Massimo Bitonci , a darling of Venetists and long-time rival of Tosi , was chosen as joint candidate by Venetists and Gobbos loyalists . On 3 June 2012 Tosi was elected secretary with 57% of the vote ( 236 delegates out of 414 ) , while Bitonci had 43% ( 178 delegates ) . On 9 June the LVs national council elected Luca Baggio , an ally of Tosi , as national president . Zaia warned Tosi that if he were not to be a unifying leader a split might occur . On 1 July 2012 Maroni was elected federal secretary during a federal congress presided by Zaia . The Venetian delegates elected also four members to the federal council : Finozzi ( tosiano ) , Bitonci ( Venetist , anti-Tosi ) , Stival ( Venetist , tosiano ) and Dal Lago ( Venetist , independent ) . A few days later Maroni appointed Federico Caner , who was supported by both Tosi and Gobbo , as his vicar . As early as in May 2013 Caner was replaced by Tosi . At the 2013 general election the LV stopped at 10.5% , almost a record low , resulting in just 5 deputies and 5 senators . Tosi considered this a consequence of the renewed alliance with the PdL ( instrumental to Maronis election as President of Lombardy ) , while many party bigwigs , including Zaia , criticised his leadership , management of the campaign and selection of candidates . Most provincial leaders resigned or were deposed by Tosi , who appointed loyalists . In April the national council of LV , led by Tosi , expelled 35 party members ( mostly Venetists or old-guard bossiani ) , including two regional councillors and a former deputy . In August the dissidents , led by Corrado Callegari , a former deputy , formed Veneto First , which became a separate party in January 2014 and welcomed a third councillor in February 2015 . In the 2013 municipal elections the party lost the mayorship of Treviso after 19 years , as Giancarlo Gentilini surrendered to Democrat Giovanni Manildo 55.5% to 44.5% . However , one year later , in the 2014 municipal elections Bitonci was elected mayor of the much bigger city of Padua , a Democratic stronghold , by defeating incumbent Ivo Rossi 53.5% to 46.5% . The party thus governed two of the three largest cities of Veneto , Verona and Padua . Finally , in the 2014 European Parliament election the LV gained 15.2% and two MEPs , Tosi ( who showed his popular support once for all and was soon replaced by Fontana ) and Bizzotto . Road to the 2015 regional election . In the run-up of the 2015 regional election the party was quite divided on alliances and strategies . Zaia wanted to continue the alliance with Forza Italia and the New Centre-Right ( the two parties emerged from the break-up of the PdL ) and to reinforce it with the creation of a Zaia List , Tosi wanted the party to run with the sole support of the Zaia List and a Tosi List , while Matteo Salvini , who succeeded to Maroni as federal secretary in 2013 , kept an open mind only on Forza Italia and opposed , along with Zaia , any notion of a Tosi List . Furthermore , while Zaia , supported by Salvini , wanted to renovate the partys group in the Regional Council ( in order to get rid of some of his ministers who happened to be tosiani ) and have a final say on the compilation of the partys slates , Tosi , who defended the position of long-time regional councillors and ministers , claimed his authority and the autonomy of the LV in relation to the federal party . In early March the struggle between Tosi and Zaia–Salvini led the former to threaten a run in competition with Zaia in the regional election and Lega Nords federal council to appoint Dozzo as a mediator between Tosi and Zaia . The internal clashes led three regional councillors to quit the party in the Regional Council : Vittorino Cenci joined Veneto First , while LVs president Baggio and Matteo Toscani launched the pro-Tosi Venetian Commitment . All three disagreed with a perceived partys rightward shift under Salvini , while Cenci contested also Tosi and the partys engagement in southern politics through Us with Salvini ( NcS ) . After a long struggle between Tosi and Salvini , the latter acknowledged the formers relinquishment from party member , on the grounds that Tosi had refused to ditch his think tank , named Lets Rebuild the Country , and appointed Dozzo federal commissioner for the LV . Consequently , Tosi decided to run for President against Zaia . Besides Baggio and Toscani , four more regional councillors ( Stival , regional minister of Venetian Identity , and Giuseppe Stoppato , who formed , along with former Democrat Diego Bottacin , a group named Toward North–Venetian People , Conte , regional minister of the Environment , and Andrea Bassi ) , three deputies , three senators and Muraro ( president of the province of Treviso ) , followed Tosi , while two factional leaders , Finozzi ( regional minister of Tourism and International Trade ) and Bizzotto MEP , chose not to . In the meantime , Venetian Agreement changed its name into Tosi List for Veneto ( LTV ) . 2015 regional election and aftermath . The election was a triumph for Zaia , who was re-elected with 50.1% of the vote , and Liga Veneta , which obtained 40.9% of the vote ( combined result of official party list , 17.8% , and Zaias personal list , 23.1% ) . Tosi and the two lists connected to the LTV won 11.9% and 7.1% , respectively , while other regionalist parties ( Independence We Veneto , Venetian Independence , North-East Union , Autonomous Veneto Project and Veneto Confederal State ) gained another 6.3% in what was the best result ever for both Venetist parties , which controlled the majority of the Regional Council for the first time , and Liga Veneta itself , which obtained 24 seats out of 51 in it . After the election , Zaia unveiled his second government , composed of ten ministers , including nine Lighisti : Gianluca Forcolin ( Vice President , Budget and Local Government ) , Luca Coletto ( Health and Social Programs ) , Roberto Marcato ( Economic Development and Energy ) , Elisa De Berti ( Publick Works , Infrastructures and Transports ) , Giuseppe Pan ( Agriculture , Hunting and Fishing ) , Manuela Lanzarin ( Social Affairs ) , Federico Caner ( EU Programs , Tourism and International Trade ) , Gianpaolo Bottacin ( Environment and Civil Protection ) and Cristiano Corazzari ( Culture , City Planning and Security ) ; Elena Donazzan ( Education and Labour ) represented Forza Italia . In February 2015 , during a national congress , Gianantonio Da Re , a long-time lighista from the province of Treviso , affiliate of Gobbo and now close to Zaia , was elected national secretary . Da Res election represented a return to normality after the traumatic leadership and ousting of Tosi . Subsequently , Bitonci was appointed national president by the partys national council and , contextually , Fontana was appointed deputy federal secretary by Salvini . After Salvinis re-election as LN federal secretary in the 2017 leadership election ( with overwhelming support from Venetians , still grateful for Tosis ousting ) , at the partys federal congress on 21 May 2017 three LV members ( Fontana , Marcato and Erik Pretto ) were elected to the federal council . In the 2018 general election the party obtained 32.2% of the vote , its best result ever in a general election , and , under a new electoral law that had re-introduced single-seat constituencies , had 23 deputies ( including Bitonci , who had been defeated in the early 2017 municipal election in Padua ) and 9 senators elected . After months of negotiations , the LN formed a coalition government with the Five Star Movement ( M5S ) , under Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte . Two LV members were appointed ministers in Conte Cabinet : Erika Stefani at Regional Affairs and Autonomies , and Lorenzo Fontana at Family and Disability . In the 2019 European Parliament election the party reached 49.9% of the vote . 2020 regional election and aftermath . The regional election was even more a triumph for Zaia , who was re-elected for a third conservative term with 76.8% of the vote . Liga Veneta fielded three lists , including the official one , Zaias personal list and the Venetian Autonomy List ( comprising also Liga Veneta Repubblica ) , which obtained 16.9% , 44.6% and 2.4% , respectively . The party , with 33 seats ( plus one obtained by the third list ) , had thus far more than 50% of the seats in the Regional Council . After the election , Zaia unveiled his third government , composed of eight ministers , including seven Lighisti : Elisa De Berti ( Vice President , Legal Affairs , Public Works , Infrastructures and Transports ) , Francesco Calzavara ( Planning , Budget , Patrimony and Local Government ) , Manuela Lanzarin ( Health , Social Affairs and Social Programs ) , Roberto Marcato ( Economic Development , Energy and Special Status for Venice ) , Federico Caner ( EU Programs , Agriculture , Tourism and International Trade ) , Gianpaolo Bottacin ( Environment , Climate and Civil Protection ) , Cristiano Corazzari ( Culture , City Planning , Security , Hunting and Fishing ) ; Elena Donazzan ( Education , Formation , Labour and Equal Opportunities ) represented Brothers of Italy . LVs Roberto Ciambetti was re-elected President of the Regional Council . Ideology . Liga Veneta was conceived by Franco Rocchetta and others in the late 1970s . During its first official meeting in Recoaro on 9 December 1979 , Achille Tramarin , who was then elected secretary of the new party , gave a speech titled Venetian Autonomy and Europe : Today for Venetians the moment has come , after 113 years of Italian unitary colonisation , to take their natural and human resources back , to fight against the wild exploitation that brought poverty , emigration , pollution and uprooting from their culture . European integration was seen as an opportunity to give Veneto its autonomy back . Rocchetta , who left the party in 1994 after a power struggle and has since become a bitter critic of his former colleagues in the name of pure Venetism , conceived the LV as a libertarian , secular and Europeanist party . The promotion the re-discovery the Republic of Venices heritage , traditions , culture , and especially Venetian language , and opposition to the displacement of Mafia inmates in Veneto were key goals of the party since its foundation . The LV is aimed to unite all Venetians who support autonomy for Veneto and federal reform . For this reason it tends to be a multi-ideological catch-all party , following what Umberto Bossi stated in 1982 to his early followers of Lega Lombarda : It does not matter how old are you , what your job is and what your political tendency : what matters is that you and we are all Lombard . [ ... ] It is as Lombards that , indeed , that we have a fundamental common goal in that face of which our division in parties should fall behind . While the bulk of the original Lega Lombarda ( including Umberto Bossi , Roberto Maroni and Marco Formentini ) came from the left ( Bossi and Maroni were previously active in the Italian Communist Party , Proletarian Democracy and the Greens ) and conceived the party as a centre-left ( and , to some extent , social-democratic ) political force , the LV was characterized more as liberal and centrist party and has always proposed a more libertarian political line . This difference reflected also its position in Venetian politics : while , in the early 1990s , the League stole votes especially from the Communists and the Italian Socialist Party , in Veneto the LV basically replaced Christian Democracy as dominant political force . In fact , even though most of the early members of the party came from the centre-right ( Christian Democracy and the Italian Liberal Party ) , there were also people coming from the left such as Giovanni Meo Zilio , Actionist and Socialist partisan in the Italian resistance movement , who was one of the founding fathers of the party , and Rocchetta himself , a former Republican and , later , Communist . 2010–2015 Program . In the run-up to the 2010 regional election , the party released its political platform for the 2010–2015 term . Its key words were innovation and modernity . The challenges that Veneto should face in the next decades , said the party , were to enhance internationalization in the era of globalization , to overcome the traditional Venetian policentrism and interpret Veneto as a united and cohesive region : a European region in Italian land . The program stressed also concepts such as Europe of the regions , Europe of citizens , global Veneto , openeness toward the world , green economy , urban planning in respect of the environment , respect for diversity and integration of immigrants , along with the more traditional think globally , act locally . Along these , the core issues of the party , especially autonomism , low taxes , fight against red tape and promotion of Venetian language and culture , were also included in the program . According to the paper , a strong Veneto as that imagined by the party would be a protagonist of federal reform in Italy and Europe . The LV has opposed nuclear power plants in Veneto , citing the high population density and the fact that the region is already energetically self-sufficient . Manifesto for a new League . In April 2012 some key members from the province of Treviso , led by Giuseppe Covre and Marzio Favero , proposed a Manifesto for the League which will be , which was soon endorsed by Roberto Maroni ( see above ) . The text , divided in eighteen points , was aimed at preparing a new course for the party . The proponents wanted to re-launch the federalist structure of Lega Nord , in spite of the centralisation and leaderism which had long characterized it . Thus , they highlighted the centrality of members , internal democracy , open debate and frequent congresses . They also wanted a more open party , especially to intellectuals , economic forces , and associations . After many failures in Rome , the party should start building the way toward federalism outside the Parliament , by forming alliances among regions , provinces and municipalities . The party should also adopt a different language : in fact the proponents realized how some xenophobic statements , calls for localistic isolation and invocations of a token traditionalism had damaged the cause and the growth of the League . [ ... ] Local autonomy intended as autarchy is anachronistic , while it must be conceived as a value [ ... ] toward international openness , as the glorious Venetian history tells us! . The League should be able to talk to a larger portion of the electorate , by reclaiming the Catholic , socialist , liberal , ecc . strains of ideas and by irrevocably leaving the rusty alternative between right and left behind : For too long the League has been stuck in a contradiction . On one side it has presented itself as a movement for institutional reform and , as such , super partes . On the other it has allowed itself to be absorbed in the right/left dialectic . The real battle today is between idolatry of the state and federalism , between an artificial institution and the real communities . Neither with the right nor with the left : the League is above . 2015–2020 Program . In the run-up of the 2015 regional election the party did not release a platform , leaving room for Luca Zaias government program for the 2015–2020 term . Consistently with Zaias social-democratic political instincts and his fascination for Tony Blairs New Labour , the document had a special focus on labour , welfare and the reform of public services . The platform notably included a commitment to bring forward two referendums , one on autonomy and another on independence . Factions . Within the party there are no formal factions , yet there are some unofficial groupings . Gian Paolo Gobbo and Luca Zaia have long been the leaders of the wing from Treviso , which has its roots in the original Liga Veneta and is more Venetist in character , while the Verona wing , whose standard-bearers have been Flavio Tosi , Federico Bricolo and Lorenzo Fontana , is more conservative and has stronger links with Lega Lombarda . While Lighisti from Venice are usually closer to Gobbo and Zaia , those from Vicenza and Padua are set somewhere in the middle between Treviso and Verona . An ideological strain worth of mention is embodied by pure Venetists who stress issues such as Venetian identity and language : they have notably included Massimo Bitonci , Roberto Ciambetti , Stival , Giovanni Furlanetto and Nicola Finco . Gobbo was re-elected secretary in 2007 due to an agreement with Tosi , who was Gobbos strongest rival for the leadership . At the 2012 congress Tosi defeated the Venetists standard-bearer Bitonci , who was supported by 43% of delegates and most MPs . In 2011 in the party were outraged when Tosi , as mayor of Verona , announced that he was going to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification and declared that Italian unity was a good thing . Gobbo promptly disavowed Tosi and confirmed that the party was opposed to any celebration . Tosi was criticised also by other party bigwigs , such as Francesca Martini , while Furlanetto proposed the ejection of Tosi from the party . In early 2012 another friction was caused by Tosis decision to present a personal list , alongside the partys one , in the forthcoming Verona municipal election and his intention to drop its traditional ally , The People of Freedom . Not only Gobbo opposed the move by Tosi , but he also took the opportunity to describe Tosis views on Italy and Padania as heresy . It is difficult to say who was more conservative or liberal between Tosi and Zaia , who have often exchanged their positions within the party . Tosi was a more traditional conservative-liberal , while Zaia , while being a centrist , has resembled a green-populist position on environmental issues , nuclear power , GMOs , etc . In occasion of the 2011 referendums , Zaia declared his support for three referenda aimed at blocking the return to nuclear energy and the privatisation of water services . Needless to say , Tosi declared himself a keen nuclearist and a supporter of the free market instead . At the federal level of the party , Tosi was a long-time ally of Roberto Maroni . Popular support . The party has its strongholds in the provinces of the Pedemontana ( 40–60% of the vote ) , that is to say the area at the feet of the Venetian Prealps . In the 2010 regional election the party did well in most of the region , but had its best results in Luca Zaias province of Treviso ( 48.5% ) . Treviso was followed by Vicenza ( 38.1% ) , Verona ( 36.1% ) , Belluno ( 32.8% ) , Padua ( 31.4% ) , Venice ( 26.1% ) and Rovigo ( 22.7% ) . The partys urban strongholds were in the cities of Treviso ( 35.4% ) , Schio ( 34.8% ) , San Donà di Piave ( 32.8% ) , Bassano del Grappa ( 31.2% ) , Verona ( 30.4% ) , Belluno ( 27.0% ) , Vicenza ( 26.1% ) and Padua ( 25.4% ) . In the 2015 general election the party , which fielded the official list and one named after Zaia , did even better : 57.3% in the province of Treviso , 45.4% in Vicenza , 42.5% in Padua , 37.9% in Venice , 35.9% in Belluno and 32.9% in Rovigo ; it did worse only in Verona , Flavio Tosis heartland , with 28.4% . In urban areas , the party won 46.2% in Bassano del Grappa , 44.9% in Treviso , 43.7% in San Donà di Piave , 39.1% in Schio , 36.7% in Vicenza , 35.5% in Padua , 32.6% in Venice and 32.1% in Belluno . The electoral results of Liga Veneta in Veneto since 1983 are shown in the table below . Leadership . <onlyinclude> - National Secretary : Achille Tramarin ( 1980−1983 ) , Marilena Marin ( 1983−1984 ) , Franco Rocchetta ( 1984−1985 ) , Marilena Marin ( 1985−1994 ) , Fabrizio Comencini ( 1994−1998 ) , Gian Paolo Gobbo ( 1998−2012 ) , Flavio Tosi ( 2012−2015 ) , Gianpaolo Dozzo ( federal commissioner , 2015–2016 ) , Gianantonio Da Re ( 2016–2019 ) , Lorenzo Fontana ( federal commissioner , 2019–2020 ) , Alberto Stefani ( federal commissioner , 2020–present ) - National President : Franco Rocchetta ( 1991−1994 ) , Gian Paolo Gobbo ( 1994−1998 ) , Giuseppe Ceccato ( 1998–1999 ) , Manuela Dal Lago ( 2001−2008 ) , Flavio Tosi ( 2008−2012 ) , Luca Baggio ( 2012–2015 ) , Massimo Bitonci ( 2016–2019 ) </onlyinclude> - Party Leader in the Regional Council : Franco Rocchetta ( 1985–1994 ) , Gian Paolo Gobbo ( 1994–2000 ) , Flavio Tosi ( 2000–2002 ) , Franco Manzato ( 2002–2008 ) , Gianpaolo Bottacin ( 2008–2009 ) , Roberto Ciambetti ( 2009–2010 ) , Federico Caner ( 2010–2015 ) , Nicola Finco ( 2015–2020 ) , Giuseppe Pan ( 2020–present ) Notable members . The party has 24 deputies , 9 senators , 33 regional councillors and dozens of mayors , including those of Treviso , Castelfranco Veneto and Montebelluna . A member of Liga Veneta has served as President of Veneto : - Luca Zaia ( 2010–present ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as Vice President of Veneto : - Gian Paolo Gobbo ( 1994–1995 ) - Luca Zaia ( 2005–2008 ) - Franco Manzato ( 2008–2010 ) - Gianluca Forcolin ( 2015–2020 ) - Elisa De Berti ( 2020–present ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as President of the Regional Council of Veneto : - Enrico Cavaliere ( 2000–2005 ) - Marino Finozzi ( 2005–2010 ) - Roberto Ciambetti ( 2015–present ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as Ministers of the Italian Government : - Erika Stefani ( 2018–2019 ) - Lorenzo Fontana ( 2018–2019 ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as federal president of Lega Nord : - Franco Rocchetta ( 1991−1994 ) - Stefano Stefani ( 1995−2002 ) - Luciano Gasperini ( 2002−2005 ) A member of Liga Veneta has served as leader of Lega Nord in the Chamber of Deputies : - Gianpaolo Dozzo ( 2012–2013 ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as leader of Lega Nord in the Senate : - Luciano Gasperini ( 1998−1999 ) - Federico Bricolo ( 2008−2013 ) - Massimo Bitonci ( 2013–2014 ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as head of delegation of Lega Nord at the European Parliament : - Lorenzo Fontana ( 2012–2014 ) - Mara Bizzotto ( 2018–2019 ) Members of Liga Veneta have served as federal deputy secretary of Lega Nord : - Gianpaolo Dozzo ( 1998–1999 ) - Federico Caner ( 2012–2013 ) - Flavio Tosi ( 2013–2014 ) - Lorenzo Fontana ( 2016–present ) A member of Liga Veneta has served as federal administrative secretary of Lega Nord : - Stefano Stefani ( 2012–2014 ) In April 2012 Manuela Dal Lago was appointed member of the triumvirate who replaced Umberto Bossi at the head of Lega Nord and temporarily led the party . Luciano Gasperini was Lega Nords candidate for President of the Republic in 1999 .