President speaks out on Italian hard line
ROME — Italian President Sergio Mattarella said this week it was “irresponsible” for the new Italian government to let its strict anti-migrant policies put the European Union’s open border laws at risk, adding his voice to a growing chorus of public figures opposed to the measures.
“Freedom of movement for Italians,” Mattarella said on a state visit to Estonia, “is an irrevocable fact.”
Only five weeks after it was installed, the new Italian government is so far probably best known for its strict policies on asylum-seekers. The country has refused to let nonItalian rescue ships dock in its harbors, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has pressured other European Union leaders to toughen laws on migration.
Matteo Salvini, one of two deputy prime ministers and the country’s minister of the interior, has threatened to kick out as many as half a million migrants living in Italy.
Polls show a growing minority of Italians support tougher policies on migrants, who pollsters say are frequently blamed for rising crime, violence and increasing government spending. But the policies Conte and Salvini have pushed for are also drawing criticism from across the spectrum in Italy, among them athletes, actors, intellectuals and political leaders.
“I think it is time for Italy to wake up and become more open to people from outside, following the example of France or England,” said Mario Balotelli, one of Italy’s best-known soccer players, who is the child of migrants from Ghana.
A letter signed by more than 200 public intellectuals — academics, writers, and think tank fellows — made similar charges, saying the government’s anti-migrant policies were “unconstitutional, morally unacceptable, and contrary to the most basic human rights”.
Mattarella claimed they were also irrational.
“Between the middle of 2017 to middle of 2018, arrivals to Italy from Africa have fallen by 85 percent,” he said. “Talking about closing borders isn’t rational, it is a response to emotions. But responsible politics require rationality.”