IT is exactly the kind of rightist European independence movement that makes SNP leaders shudder.
Radically neo-liberal and openly hostile to migrants and refugees, northern Italy's Grande Nord is far from an obvious ally for Nicola Sturgeon's brand of social-democratic Scottish nationalism.
Yet this tiny right-wing party on Monday announced it had signed a pact with the SNP to fight "together for independence".
There was just one problem: the agreement it had struck was not with the SNP, but with Tommy Sheridan, of Hope over Fear. And even Mr Sheridan, when questioned by The Herald, said he did not know what he had signed.
The SNP on Monday confirmed to The Herald that it did not have any pact with Grande Nord and that it did not endorse the party.
Grande Nord is a splinter group of the old Lega Nord, now simply Lega, the more right-wing of the two populist parties currently running Italy.
BACKGROUND: The inrequited love of Lega Nord for Alex Salmond
Grande Nord figures believe current Lega leader Matteo Salvini, one of Italy's vice-premiers, has betrayed the pro-North campaign of the original Lega Nord. Lega's founder Umberto Bossi had swayed between support for outright independence for a nation he called Padania and a federalist stance in which he complained too much northern money was being sent to Italy's poorer south.
Grande Nord's pact with the SNP was hailed by its leader, a Milan hotelier named Roberto Bernadelli.
He told his party's online newspaper, L'Indipendenza Nuova, that the signing was "an historic event which legitimises Grande Nord as part of the great family of European independentism." He added: "We are changing history.
"The North has more hope of fighting for its freedom, thanks to its Scottish brothers, who are determined to demand emancipation from London in the same way we are from Rome."
Pictures were shared on social media of Mr Bernadelli and Mr Sheridan signing the document during this weekend's Hope Over Fear event in Glasgow's George Square.
Hope Over Fear
The document has SNP and Grande Nord logos at its top. It is called "Together for independence."
In not-quite-correct English, it reads: "In the name of the same values of independence, brotherhood, fraternity, kindness, friendship, we are going to sign a mutual cooperation among the different countries that believe in a new Europe of people."
Mr Sheridan signed it under his own name and the title "SNP-Hope Over Fear". He told The Herald he did not know anything about Grande Nord. Asked if there had been a misunderstanding, Mr Sheridan said: "There must have been".
He added: "I was asked by an indy activist to pose for some pictures with a group of people who were over to support us. That is all I know. I am not in the SNP."
L'Indipendenza Nuova published pictures of Mr Sheridan in front of a Sun of the Alps flag, the green-petalled symbol of Padania, the name Lega Nord previously proposed for a sovereign north Italian state.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel