Politics Deputy head of government Salvini in favor of Italy's withdrawal from WHO

SDA

24.1.2025 - 11:53

ARCHIVE - Italian Infrastructure Minister and leader of the Italian right-wing party Lega, Matteo Salvini, speaks at the Lega's annual meeting in Pontida, north of Milan. Photo: Antonio Calanni/AP/dpa
ARCHIVE - Italian Infrastructure Minister and leader of the Italian right-wing party Lega, Matteo Salvini, speaks at the Lega's annual meeting in Pontida, north of Milan. Photo: Antonio Calanni/AP/dpa
Keystone

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and leader of the right-wing Lega party has spoken out in favor of Italy's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Keystone-SDA

"Italy should no longer have to deal with a supranational power center that is generously funded by Italian taxpayers and goes arm in arm with multinational pharmaceutical companies," Salvini wrote on X on Thursday evening. "Let's use this 100 million to support the sick in Italy and fund our hospitals and doctors."

A corresponding bill by the Lega to withdraw from the WHO had been presented in the Chamber of Deputies, just as the United States had done with US President Donald Trump, Salvini wrote.

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, Lega politicians Claudio Borghi and Alberto Bagnai explained that they were confident that the proposal would be shared by their allies. The proposal concerns the repeal of a 1947 decree that binds Italy to the WHO.

However, the Lega is also facing opposition from right-wing parties. According to the media, Paolo Barelli, parliamentary group leader of the co-governing Forza Italia (FI) party, spoke of a step that was a little too far-fetched. They will talk about it. The social democratic opposition party PD saw the move as a "worrying announcement".