A Brexit delayed until Halloween will be regarded as a nightmare for many. It must seem to the people who voted to leave the EU that escaping the bloc is slipping further and further away. The extension confirms their fears that the government and Brussels are prepared to re-write the rules in order to avoid a no-deal scenario, having previously pledged there would be no extension at all. One of the immediate issues now will surely be the EU elections on the 23 May, which many parties were loath to take part in. But, in some ways, the EU elections could be very helpful for Brexiters. And they could end up with more allies in Brussels than they currently have in Westminster.
On the continent, Italian interior minister and leader of the right-wing eurosceptic Lega party, Matteo Salvini, has been on manoeuvres for some time. His whistle-stop tour of Europe’s capitals has been part of an effort to garner support for the creation of a broad, eurosceptic coalition for the upcoming elections.
This week, the official launch of the movement, dubbed the ‘coalition of sovereigns’ by the Italian press, came in Milan against the glamorous backdrop of Salone del Mobile.
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