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Speaking on his LBC show, the former Ukip leader agreed with one of his callers highlighting the deep political crisis currently hitting the European Union over Brussels' migration policies. Tony, from Tuscany, told Mr Farage he believed Brussels' crumbling position could be in Theresa May's favour. The Brit abroad said: “External forces are in Theresa May’s favour. “Merkel is impotent, Macron is a two-face wimp. "Do you know he has caused the border between Italy and France and then complained this morning that Italy didn’t take that boat of refugees?

Nigel Farage hails Italian populists: 'Merkel is the past, Salvini is the future'

“You know what we are calling Salvini? The Captain. That’s his nickname. “His popularity ratings went from 20 percent to 53 percent in the last two weeks. “I was out last night with some friends and we were talking about it. “One of my mates stood up and said Italy is not in the World Cup but at least we’ve got Salvini.”

For me, for my money, Merkel is the past, Salvini is the future Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage replied: “He is a pretty effective ‘captain’. His popularity ratings are going through the roof. “One thing is for certain, Tony, for me, for my money, Merkel is the past, Salvini is the future.” Last weekend, Matteo Salvini refused to accept 629 migrants picked up in the Mediterranean on the Aquarius, a charity rescue vessel. The row, highlighted tensions over EU migration policies, which has never truly been solved since nearly 2.5 million people applied for asylum during the crisis in 2015, showing it to be as much a great fear for the fate of the bloc as the eurozone’s financial crisis.

Italian election: Matteo Salvini tipped for success Sun, March 4, 2018 Lega's Matteo Salvini is regarded by many as Italy's answer to Donald Trump Play slideshow LightRocket via Getty Images 1 of 9 Salvini has vowed to defend Italy in Brussels and not grovel to the EU