Berlusconi warns migration is ‘ bomb ready to explode’
SILVIO Berlusconi warned migration was a ‘social bomb ready to explode’ as he claimed 600,000 foreigners were living in Italy illegally.
The former prime minister vowed to regain control of immigration if his rightwing coalition won next month’s elections, and accused the EU of failing to support Italy during the migrant crisis.
Migration has become a key issue in the Italian election campaign, prompting fears of racist attacks as tensions rise ahead of the vote.
A far-Right extremist has been arrested over a drive-by shooting that targeted Africans on Saturday.
Mr Berlusconi, 81, told a TV interview: ‘Immigration has become an urgent question, because after years with a Left-wing government, there are 600,000 migrants who don’t have the right to stay. We consider it to be an absolute priority to regain control over the situation.’
He said Italy had been sidelined in the EU but, in a clear appeal to populist support, he vowed to restore its influence.
The billionaire media mogul said: ‘Today, Italy counts for nothing in Brussels and the world. We will make it count again.’
Critics accused him of adopting the anti-immigrant language of his coalition partners. Matteo Salvini, leader of the Northern League, has vowed to deport half a million migrants if his party wins.
Around 630,000 migrants have arrived in Italy from North Africa in the last four years and Mr Berlusconi said about 5 per cent – or 30,000 – had been granted refugee status. The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Italy has started to drop after an agreement between the EU and Libya, but Rome has repeatedly warned it cannot cope with its existing migrant population. The Catholic Church has warned that political parties risked fomenting a ‘climate of fear’ by campaigning on immigration issues.
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni appealed for unity after the drive-by shooting in the town of Macerata, in which six Africans were injured by a gunman who allegedly made a fascist salute and shouted ‘Italy for Italians’.
The man arrested over the shooting, former nightclub bouncer Luca Traini, 28, was a failed candidate for the Northern League in last year’s local elections.
Mr Salvini distanced himself from the shooting but said an ‘invasion of migrants’ was at the root of a ‘social clash’. Election victory on March 4 could secure an extraordinary comeback for Mr Berlusconi.
Forced to resign as Italy’s prime minister in 2011 after a series of scandals, he was mired in allegations of corruption and notorious ‘bunga bunga’ sex parties.
A year later, a tax fraud conviction saw him banned from running for public office for six years.
But his lawyers have launched a challenge against that ban in the European Court of Human Rights. If they are successful he has said he ‘would have a duty’ to seek public office again.
He leads an alliance of his own party, Forza Italia, Mr Salvini’s Northern League and the hard-right Brothers of Italy, which has the granddaughter of Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini as one of its parliamentary candidates.
Polls suggest the coalition will get the greatest share of the votes but will fall short of seizing outright control in the Italian parliament. Analysts predict the election will lead to a hung parliament but have not ruled out Mr Berlusconi’s coalition securing an outright win.
‘Duty to seek office again’