Umberto Bossi, the League's populist founder and a pivotal figure in Italian politics, dies aged 84

ROME (AP) — Umberto Bossi, the founder of Italy’s populist Northern League and one of the most influential — and polarizing — figures of Italian politics, died on Thursday aged 84, his party said.

His death prompted swift reactions across the political spectrum. President Sergio Mattarella praised him as “a passionate political leader and sincere democrat,” while Premier Giorgia Meloni acknowledged his “fundamental contribution” to the formation of Italy’s first modern center‑right coalition.

Bossi rose from modest origins to become the architect of a political movement that reshaped Italy’s post‑war landscape. From the late 1980s onward, he gave voice to the growing frustrations of northern taxpayers, channeling regional grievances into a populist project centered on autonomy and, sometimes, outright secession.

His populist slogan “Roma ladrona” (Thieving Rome) crystallized his critique of the central, corrupted state and became a rallying cry for a generation of disenchanted voters.

Born on Sept. 19, 1941, in Cassano Magnago, a small manufacturing town in the industrial heartland of northern Italy, Bossi officially entered national politics in 1987, earning the nickname “Il Senatùr” (the Senator in Lombard dialect) as he ascended to Italy’s upper house.

Over the following decades, he successfully transformed the Northern League from a tiny regional party into a key national force, forging alliances — and unexpected ruptures — with the late center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi.

He served twice as a minister under Berlusconi, overseeing institutional reform and promoting his lifelong project of national federalism.

Bossi leaves behind a complex legacy: a visionary for his supporters, a divisive populist for critics, but for all a towering figure whose ideas and confrontational style left an indelible mark on modern Italian politics.

His image in a white tank top in the summer of 1994 remains an iconic moment in Italian political history, marking a deliberate contrast to the formal image of his political ally-turned-rival Berlusconi. It became an enduring symbol of his direct, “man of the people” style.

A serious stroke in 2004 significantly affected Bossi’s health, but he remained an active presence in the political world for years afterward.

In 2012, he stepped down as party leader following a scandal over the misuse of party funds, though he continued to exert influence as a founding father of the movement, despite a stormy relationship with the party’s current leader Matteo Salvini.

Salvini recalled Bossi in an emotional post on X: "I was 17 when I met you and you changed my life ... Ciao, Capo (Bye, Boss)."

Bossi is survived by his wife, Sicilian-born Manuela Marrone, and his four sons: Riccardo — from his first wife Gigliola Guidali — Renzo, Roberto and Sirio.

Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, is applauded as he declares the independence of 'Padania', the region of Italy north of the Po River, at a rally in Venice, Sept. 15, 1996. Bossi died at the age of 84 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Umberto Bossi, populist leader of the Northern League, holds a flask of water which he has just taken from the source of the Po River in Crissolo northern Italy, Sept. 13, 1996. Bossi died at the age of 84 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Leader of the Northern League party Umberto Bossi celebrates at the party headquarters in Milan, Italy, April 14, 2008. Bossi died at the age of 84 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Northern League leader Umberto Bossi is embraced by Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, left, at a rally to support the candidature of Letizia Moratti to mayor of Milan, in this northern Italian city, May 7, 2006. Bossi died at the age of 84 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Northern League party leader Umberto Bossi gestures during a rally in Milan, Italy, March 25, 2010. Bossi died at the age of 84 on Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit two-run doubles in the first and second innings and Andy Pages added a three-run homer in the fifth to help the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 10-5 rout of the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

Pages went 3 for 5 to raise his average to .500 (15 for 30) on the young season. The Dodgers have scored 23 runs on 32 hits in the first two games of this series despite losing Mookie Betts in the first inning Saturday because of lower back pain.

Tyler Glasnow (1-0) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out nine with two walks.

Jake Irvin (1-1) allowed six runs and eight hits in four innings.

CJ Abrams homered for the Nationals.

Miguel Rojas, who replaced Betts at shortstop before the bottom of the first, hit a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 3-0. Then Freeman hit his second double of the game.

The Dodgers used the Automated Ball-Strike System to score another run in the third. Alex Call successfully challenged a called third strike with two outs, then hit an RBI single.

Luis García Jr. got Washington on the board with an RBI triple in the third, and Curtis Mead doubled home a run in the fourth, but Pages connected off reliever Brad Lord to make it 9-2.

Kyle Tucker hit an RBI single in the seventh for the final Los Angeles run.

Will Smith had three hits for the Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani had two.

Garcia finished a homer shy of the cycle for Washington, and Abrams hit a two-run shot in the eighth.

The Dodgers try for a sweep Sunday, sending Roki Sasaki (0-0) to the mound against Foster Griffin (1-0).

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani stands on deck during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (31) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hits a single during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)