ABSTRACT
One of the innovations of this book is having discussed the possible influence of a facet of the personalisation of politics – the control of the party by its leader – on the openings of party leader selectorate. In this chapter, there is a careful reconstruction of such a process by focusing on the Italian Northern League (LN). The chapter starts by reconstructing the intra-party control that the party’s historical leader, Umberto Bossi, had in his hands while in power. Subsequently, there is a discussion on the start of Roberto Maroni’s leadership immediately after Bossi’s, in 2012. The chapter further shows the intra-party divisions between 2012 and 2013 and focuses on the decision to open the party leader selectorate in 2013. Finally, there is a discussion of the leadership race between Matteo Salvini and Umberto Bossi, in late 2013. The chapter shows the importance of intra-party divisions and their importance in understanding the reasons behind leader selectorate’s opening.
