Over a span of 14 months in government, Matteo Salvini has remade Italian politics in his image. He's passed anti-migrant laws, jabbed opportunistically at European Union rules, and prevailed time and time again in policy struggles with his coalition partner.

Officially, he is Italy's interior minister. Unofficially, he has become the nationalist and nativist face of the country.

But now, Mr Salvini is making a play for more power, while pushing to upend the populist two-party coalition he dominates.

His goal: to provoke a crisis, force new elections in the fall, and become prime minister - steps that would leave no doubt about Italy's ascendant nationalist identity.

This past week, during the middle of a tour of beach towns where he sipped cocktails and DJ'd, Mr Salvini announced that he had lost faith in the coalition, a mash-up of his far-right League and the more politically amorphous Five Star Movement.

The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Show all 7 1 /7 The far-right politicians winning power across Europe The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Viktor Orban – Hungary, Fidesz The Prime Minister of Hungary has threatened to shut down NGOs that help refugees; run a state backed hate campaign against George Soros and removed constitutional checks and balances. He said: 'We have replaced a shipwrecked liberal democracy with a 21st century Christian democracy' Reuters The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Matteo Salvini – Italy, Lega The leader of Italy’s junior governing party has pledged to deport 500,000 irregular migrants; stated joining the euro was a mistake and wants to end sanctions against Russia. He said: 'The only antidote to racism is to control, regulate and limit immigration' AFP/Getty The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Heinz-Christian Strache – Austria, FPO The deputy prime minister of Austria wants to drive Islam out of public life in Austria; has threatening mosque closures and wants to end sanctions against Russia. He said: 'Let us put an end to this policy of Islamisation as soon as possible' AFP/Getty The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Marine Le Pen – France, Front National The runner-up in the French presidential election wants policies to favour ‘native’ French; has stated she would hold an EU referendum and wants to deport irregular migrants. She said: 'I’m not offended when I hear President Donald Trump say "America first". In fact, I want America first for the American people, I want Britain first for the British people and I want France first for the French people' AP The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Janez Jansa – Slovenia, Slovenian Democratic Party The leader of Slovenia’s largest party says the country is run by a secretive former communist cabal; has appointed political allies to press agencies and was sent to prison for alleged corruption which was later overturned by the Constitutional Court. He said: 'Our party puts Slovenia, Slovenians first' Reuters The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Alexander Gauland – Germany, AfD The leader of the first far-right party in the Bundestag in decades says Islam is not a part of Germany; wants a ban on public Islamic symbols and wants to leave the euro. He said: 'A German or English football team hasn’t been German or English in the classical sense for a long time' Alamy The far-right politicians winning power across Europe Jarosław Kaczynski – Poland, Law and Justice The chairman of Poland’s governing party says migrants spread infectious diseases; wants to ban gay people from being teachers and has sought to implement constitutional changes to give government more power over courts. He said: 'It is absolutely clear a homosexual should not be a teacher' Kacper Pempel/Reuters

On Friday, Mr Salvini's League took another step towards pushing the Italian government to collapse, calling for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, whose job has often consisted of arbitrating squabbles between the two parties.

Mr Salvini's summer gambit still could backfire. Provided the League sticks with its plan, Conte is exceedingly unlikely to prevail in the no-confidence vote.

But the country's president, Sergio Mattarella, has wide constitutional power during periods of crisis. He could cobble together a caretaker government - with Mr Salvini on the outside - that could keep going into the spring.

Mr Salvini could also pay a price at the polls if voters disapprove of his attempt to throw Italy into political chaos.

But just as likely, pundits say, is that Mr Salvini leads Italy to its most fully right-wing government of the postwar era. Based on current polling, new elections would enable him to form a government with a small far-right party, the Brothers of Italy.

Asked why Mr Salvini would make a move to gain the premiership, Nathalie Tocci, director of the Italian International Affairs Institute, said: "Hubris."

"He thinks he can get 50% of the vote," Ms Tocci said. "What he has done can only be explained in this way. He was already in charge. He was in charge without having to always take responsibility."

Analysts also speculate that Mr Salvini may have faced pressure from inside his party to reconsider the marriage with the Five Star Movement, which was contentious nearly from the beginning.

Matteo Salvini has become synonymous with the rise of far-right politics in Europe with his attacks on immigrants and minorities (AFP/Getty Images)

The parties are both nominally populist, and they joined up after a muddled 2018 election led to protracted negotiations on creating a government.

But the two parties have starkly different visions on social programs and infrastructure. Five Star members, in power, have struggled to maintain the posture - as truth-telling vanguards against corruption - that fed their rise in popularity.

Italy is likely to face days of uncertainty about how things will resolve. Parliament is in recess. Lawmakers have headed to the beach.

Franco Pavoncello, president of John Cabot University in Rome, said the country was in "uncharted" political territory, dealing with political chaos in August, and leaders will have to converge in Rome for consultations.

Mr Salvini has continued his beach tour but ramped up the explicit campaigning, saying he was asking Italians "to give me full powers to wholly do what we promised, without slowdowns or a millstone around our neck."

Even during events as interior minister, Mr Salvini displays his party's logo, unchanged from the 2018 campaign. "Salvini Premier," it reads.

Senator Giovanbattista Fazzolari, of the far-right Brothers of Italy, said his party had a "similar vision" to that of the League and would make for a more coherent partner after a new election.

Some of Mr Salvini's favoured ideas, including a high-speed rail link connecting France and northern Italy, were incompatible with the Five Star agenda.

Mr Salvini's main vulnerability comes from within, many analysts say. Last month, an audio recording published by BuzzFeed appeared to show a lieutenant of Mr Salvini in Moscow negotiating a plan to illegally fund the League with Russian oil money.

Luxembourg foreign minister stands up against Matteo Salvini

There is no evidence that the deal went through or that Mr Salvini knew of the matter, and Mr Salvini has denied any wrongdoing.

But prosecutors in Milan are looking into the case, and the uncertainties hang over a politician who has lauded Vladimir Putin and advocated against Russian sanctions.

The League, so far, remains far and away Italy's most popular party. It won roughly 17% of the votes in a March 2018 national election and 34% in May European elections. Based on polling this month, the League would command 38% of the vote in new national elections.

Lorenzo De Sio, a political science professor at Luiss Guido Carli University, said he didn't see a major "extremist drift" in the Italian electoral base.

Rather, Mr Salvini has steadily won over voters in more centrist parties who agree that migration to Italy should be strictly limited, and who feel that the country has been abandoned by the EU in dealing with economic problems and a glut of asylum requests.

Just as important, Mr Salvini has proven to be a tireless salesman of his own brand, campaigning from town to town almost without interruption, tweeting about everything from pasta to immigrant crime, and making political theatre of his battles with other leaders - including the Five Star's Luigi Di Maio.

"I think Salvini is thinking tactically," said Federico Santi, a senior Europe analyst at the Eurasia Group. "It's clear that the League has the upper hand now. They are polling so well."