Italy in turmoil as migrant issue causes rift in the ruling coalition

ITALY’S populist Five Star Movement has called a controversial online vote today to ask its supporters whether Matteo Salvini, the leader of its government coalition partner, should face trial on possible migrant kidnapping charges.

The vote is being held on its digital platform from 9am to 6pm, and the result will determine how Five Star senators will vote when a parliamentary committee meets tomorrow to decide whether to block an investigation against Mr Salvini.

Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Catania want to look into alleged abuse of power and possible kidnapping crimes against The League’s leader, who is also the interior minister and who sits in the Italian Senate.

The Catania inquiry focuses on a decision taken by Mr Salvini in August to order about 150 migrants to be held aboard an Italian coast guard ship for five days.

A yes vote, allowing a possible trial against Mr Salvini, would be likely to put the government at risk of collapse, political observers and commentators noted yesterday.

The populist government, formed last June by the Five Star Movement and The League, is under increasing pressure as the uneasy allies often clash over key policies and crucial decisions, including whether to pursue a highspeed rail link between France and Italy.

Mr Salvini played down the vote during a rally with his supporters in Sardinia yesterday. “They can do whatever they want,” he said. “What I did, I did to defend the safety of citizens. If necessary, I’d do it again.”

‘They can do whatever they want. What I did, I did to defend the safety of citizens. If necessary, I’d do it again’

The League’s leader, who is enjoying increasing popularity in the polls, has asked the Italian Senate to reject the request for a trial, leaving the Five Star Movement facing a difficult choice. If it denies authorisation for the investigation, it risks losing political credibility, having built electoral success by attacking the old political establishment and its privileges.

Luigi Di Maio, the Five Star leader and deputy prime minister, has also been critical of politicians who used parliamentary immunity to avoid trials.

If the party votes yes, it risks sparking a political crisis, as latest polls show its popularity has fallen sharply.

Five Star politicians seemed rattled at the announcement of an online vote. Beppe Grillo, the comedian-turnedpolitician and the movement’s founder, mocked the vote on Twitter, suggesting that the way the question was written was unclear and could confuse the party’s supporters.

“If you vote YES it means NO (to the probe) and if you vote NO it means YES,” he wrote. Others criticised the way the consultation was organised, saying it could favour Mr Salvini.

The so-called Diciotti probe began in August, when prosecutors in Catania placed Mr Salvini under investigation over the migration standoff. The Diciotti coastal ship had been docked for days at the Catania port as Mr Salvini wrestled with the EU to make other member states take in its mostly Eritrean passengers.

Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, Mr Di Maio and Danilo Toninelli, the Five Star transport minister, were also put under investigation with Mr Salvini, Italian newspapers reported yesterday. The move followed a letter to the Senate written by Mr Conte in which he said the decision to block the migrants had been taken collectively.