Politics · Italy · 8 hrs ago
Lega names Gusmeroli as budget bill rapporteur amid party divisions
Italy’s League party chose Alberto Gusmeroli to oversee its work on the budget bill in parliament.
Gusmeroli, the party’s economy chief, chairs the Industry Committee, while the League has three members on the Budget Committee.
Opposition lawmakers called his appointment an unusual move and said it sidelined the League’s Budget Committee members.
They argued that the choice showed Salvini was asserting control over Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.
The appointment comes amid a wider League split, including a push by lawmakers for Senate group leader Massimiliano Romeo to resign.
Silvana Comaroli, who had been expected to take the rapporteur role, was passed over after backing Massimo Garavaglia, a rival of party leader Matteo Salvini.
The appointment has not resolved the party’s internal divisions, which may surface again at upcoming local League meetings in Lombardy.
The League named Alberto Gusmeroli as its rapporteur for Italy’s budget bill, replacing Silvana Comaroli.
Gusmeroli is the party’s economy chief and chairs the parliamentary Committee on Productive Activities, rather than serving on the Budget Committee.
Opposition lawmakers criticised the appointment as an anomaly and accused Matteo Salvini of sidelining Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.
The appointment comes amid divisions within the League, including a dispute over Comaroli’s support for Salvini’s rival, Massimo Garavaglia.
League senator Massimiliano Romeo also faces a request to resign as the party’s Senate group leader.
- Who
- The League named Alberto Gusmeroli as rapporteur for the budget bill.
- What
- His appointment replaced Silvana Comaroli and drew criticism from opposition lawmakers.
- When
- The appointment was reported on 4 November 2026.
- Where
- Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and parliamentary budget process.
- Why
- The sources link the choice to divisions within the League but do not state an official reason.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Silvana Comaroli was widely expected to be the party’s rapporteur for the budget bill.
The League’s choice of Alberto Gusmeroli as rapporteur was reported, prompting criticism from opposition lawmakers.
Stefano Borghesi collected signatures seeking Massimiliano Romeo’s resignation as League Senate group leader.
- Rapporteur
- Alberto Gusmeroli
- Previous expected rapporteur
- Silvana Comaroli
- Gusmeroli’s role
- Chair of the Committee on Productive Activities and the League’s economy chief
- Opposition accusation
- Salvini is sidelining Giorgetti
- Romeo resignation petition
- 25 signatures out of 29, according to Corriere della Sera
4 sources
Il fuoco amico leghista contro Giorgetti. Scelto un altro relatore (e Romeo sarà sfiduciato)
Manovra, è caos per la nomina di Gusmeroli (Lega) a relatore. Opposizioni: “Salvini commissaria Giorgetti”
Manovra: ira opposizioni, 'grave Gusmeroli relatore, Salvini commissaria Giorgetti'
What people are saying
It is serious, an appalling operation. We have a rapporteur for the budget bill who is not a member of the Budget Committee, and that is an anomaly.
Salvini is sidelining Giorgetti.
I had understood that after the congress we would start again united and compact.
I find it undignified that the chair of another committee should arrive and take over the female deputies in a settling of scores within the League.