PM plays down fears of migrant influx amid anti-migrant Italian government appointments
The Office of the Prime Minister has played down fears of a migrant influx following the news that Matteo Salvini, who is notoriously anti-migration, has been appointed as Interior Minister in Italy.
Fears of a migrant influx in Malta have been rising throughout 2018 as Italy edged closer to a rightwing, populist government. Following the elections and the tumultuous happenings thereafter as the respective political parties scrambled to form a coalition government, it would appear that those fears are not completely unfounded with Salvini yesterday morning telling a crowd of people at a rally in Northern Italy that “the free ride is over”, warning migrants that “it’s time to pack your bags”.
The Malta Independent took local fears of a migrant influx to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who in turn played down the fears: “We respect the will of the Italian people and look forward to engaging with the new government. During my tenure, I have already had the opportunity to engage with four Italian Prime Ministers and always found them to be very cooperative in their approach.
“I am sure that the historical and geographical ties of the two countries will be the context within which these relations will continue to develop.
Since 2016, the numbers of irregular migrants arriving to Malta by boat have dropped significantly.
“The Maltese government is willing to continue engaging with the Italian government at European and bilateral level as part of a holistic strategy which has seen a drastic reduction in persons travelling through the Central Mediterranean route.”
Despite the positive and hopeful outlook being showed by Muscat, Salvini’s rhetoric on a morning rally yesterday where he pledged mass deportations could indicate otherwise.
Last Friday, Italy closed off a three-month chapter of both political and financial turmoil after it finally swore in a government, albeit its populist and euroskeptic leanings.
The direction Italian authorities appear to be taking does not come as a surprise to Malta, with politicians taking a hard stance on migrants in the run up to the Italian election. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saying that should he be elected, Malta will have to start taking in migrants again.
Since 2016, the numbers of irregular migrants arriving to Malta by boat by taking the dangerous and potentially fatal journey across the central Mediterranean corridor between Northern Africa and Southern Europe have dropped significantly.
That is not to say that significantly less migrants are embarking on the dangerous crossing, but an agreement between Malta and the previous Italian government meant that boats of migrants who are found to be in difficulty closer to Maltese waters were still rescued by Italian authorities and taken to Italy.
The issue of irregular migration is a particular bone of contention for many Maltese citizens who say fear for their safety when faced with volumes of migrants who come to Malta with no documentation or information of who they are and where they come from.
Many argue that Malta is simply too small and overcrowded to shoulder the burden of caring for irregular migrants, calling for bigger countries with more space and resources to take their fair share of the responsibility.