Lega calls for measures against arrivals, otherwise they may leave the government coalition
In light of Italy’s strong immigration movements, right-wing ruling Lega Prime Minister Mario Draghi is threatening to leave the coalition if the cabinet does not crack down on refugee landings in the country. “I wrote to Draghi and told him that the problem of migrant arrivals must be resolved by the end of August,” Liga president Matteo Salvini said in an interview with reporters on Sunday evening.
“If the Minister of the Interior (Luciana) Lamorgese is unable to solve the problem, she should take note of this and draw conclusions. She should do something to stop these large numbers of arrivals. That will be a problem for LaLiga, which is government support that accepts this number of migrants arriving,” Salvini said.
The numbers are going up again
The two non-governmental ships “Sea-Watch 3” and “Ocean Viking” rescued about 800 migrants in the Mediterranean on Sunday. 555 people were on board the Ocean Viking and 250 on the Sea Watch 3. The French NGO SOS Mediterranee and German Sea Watch, the operator of the ship, demanded a port for disembarkation. The island of Lampedusa has faced large influxes of migration for weeks. The hot spot on the island is overcrowded.
28,515 migrants have arrived in southern Italy after cruises across the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2021. In the same period in 2020, there were 13,623, according to the latest information from the Italian Ministry of the Interior.
Salvini’s Lega has been part of the multi-party coalition supported by the Draghi government since February. After the Five Star Movement, it is the strongest single party in the Italian Parliament and is represented by three ministers in Draghi’s government.
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