Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – Umberto Bossi, who died on March 19, would have turned 85 today. Six months after the death of the founder of the League—with the Northern League gathering on the Pontida lawn tomorrow—Renzo Bossi, the senator's son, is breaking his silence for the first time since his father's passing. "Today is a special day," he said in a lengthy interview with AdnKronos.
“Now I want to remember first of all what he built, and above all why he did it,” he emphasizes, trying – with difficulty – to put aside sadness and regret.
His father was born on September 19, 41, and today it's been six months since he's been with us...
“This is a special day. Six months seems like a long time and very little at the same time.
There are still moments when I naturally think about calling him or going to him to tell him something. Today he would have turned 85, and inevitably the memories are so many. But I believe the best way to remember my father isn't just talking about his absence; it's better to remember what he built and, above all, why he built it.
Tomorrow there's Pontida. And there's probably no place that better represents such an important part of his life."
What was Umberto Bossi's Northern League?
My father had built what I continue to consider, first and foremost, a great union in the North. A movement that was meant to defend those who lived, worked, and produced in our territories. The worker and the entrepreneur. The artisan and the merchant. The retiree and the young person who wanted to build a future here. People who were perhaps very different from each other, but united by a very simple demand: that their territory be respected and that an adequate share of the resources produced remain there. That was the strength of the Northern League. Not representing one category against another, but representing a territory.
Is this the political legacy your father left behind?
“For me, yes. Umberto Bossi's political legacy isn't a photograph, a T-shirt, or a slogan. It's an idea. The League must be, first and foremost, the union of the North. Then, of course, the world changes, politics changes, and even political parties change. It's normal. But there are roots. And if you use Umberto Bossi's name, history, or image, I believe those roots should be respected.”
Are you saying that your father's image shouldn't be used for a League other than his own?
My father's image is an inevitable part of the League's history, because he founded and built that history along with thousands of militants. But precisely for this reason, I think it should be used consistently with what he fought for throughout his life. If you invoke Umberto Bossi, you invoke the North. The two cannot be separated. His name and his image must serve first and foremost to remember and defend those battles, not to represent something different. For me, this is a very clear point.
Tomorrow, Pontida will be the venue, and the debate will also focus on internal tensions within the League...
"Those dynamics belong to this party, the current one, and remain internal to the party. Autonomy, taxation, infrastructure, businesses, jobs, security, and resources that remain in the local communities: these are the issues on which, in my opinion, Pontida should regain a very strong voice. It shouldn't simply be an annual event or a showcase, it should be the moment in which the North presents its demands to national politics."
What does Pontida represent then?
For me, even before politics, Pontida represents a very simple idea: unity. The historical reference is to the oath with which the Lombard municipalities decided to unite against imperial power. My father united them against the centralized Roman power; he understood the enormous power of that symbol: different territories, different cities, different people who understand that only together can they defend their interests and their freedom. This concept also gave rise to the Northern League. And I believe that today, more than ever, it is important to remember it.
Rumor has it that Massimiliano Romeo, secretary of the Lombard League, may desert the stage at the Pratone, preferring not to speak. What do you think?
"I have no doubt that Massimiliano Romeo will speak from the stage in Pontida. Romeo is the secretary of the Lombard League and politically represents a community and a region that continue to demand greater attention, autonomy, and the ability to retain a greater portion of the resources produced locally."
So you dream of a League once again focused on providing answers to the Northern Question?
I'm not qualified to decide what a party's national strategy should be. What I can say is what my father's battle was and what political legacy I recognize in him. Umberto Bossi dedicated his political life to the defense of the North, to federalism, and to autonomy. And I think that those who today refer to his story must have the courage to carry on those battles. Not out of nostalgia, but because many of the questions he raised thirty years ago are still open.
If Renzo Bossi could go up on stage in Pontida tomorrow and say just one sentence, what would it be?
“I would say: 'Remember why we got here in the first place.' Because you can change a symbol, you can change a strategy, you can change a political generation. But if you forget the reason a community was born, you risk losing that community. And I believe the most important lesson my father left is precisely this: the land and its people come first. Then comes everything else.”
And today, on his birthday, what would he say to his father?
“First of all, I'd say, 'Happy birthday, Dad.' And then I'd tell him that, even though several months have passed, there are still so many people who write to me every day, remembering everything he's done. And that tomorrow, if I looked at that meadow, I'd inevitably look for his face again, I'd listen to his words, like everyone else did…”
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