In Italy, there is an open power struggle between the judiciary and the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The head of government is exerting massive pressure on a court to protect her deputy Matteo Salvini from a prison sentence.
The public prosecutor in Palermo wants to see the transport minister sentenced to six years in prison. The head of the right-wing Lega party is accused of having prevented a ship in the Mediterranean carrying around 150 migrants in distress from entering a safe harbor for weeks during his time as interior minister in 2019.
The verdict after more than three years of trial is expected to be announced next month – the outcome is uncertain. However, immediately after the prosecutor’s request, the three parties of the right-wing coalition in Rome joined forces to prevent a guilty verdict.
Meloni wrote on Platform X: “It is unbelievable that a minister of the Italian Republic risks six years in prison for carrying out his duty to defend the nation’s borders.” Salvini himself declared: “I would do everything the same again. Defending Italy is not a crime.”
Dramatic scenes off Lampedusa
The public prosecutor’s office, however, considers it proven that the right-wing populist is guilty of both deprivation of liberty and abuse of office. In Italy, this can result in up to 15 years in prison. In August 2019, Salvini ordered that the ship of a Spanish aid organization was not allowed to enter the port of the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in order to prevent illegal migration. The “Open Arms” had more than 160 people on board who, according to the aid workers, had been rescued from distress at sea on the way from Africa to Europe.
Dramatic scenes took place off the coast of Lampedusa. Several people jumped into the water and tried to swim to shore. The public prosecutor’s office finally had the “Open Arms” confiscated after three weeks so that the ship could dock. Salvini was the Minister of the Interior at the time. He also made a name for himself internationally through his tough approach to ships belonging to private aid organizations – including through a conflict with the German captain of the ship “Sea-Watch 3”, Carola Rackete. She is now a member of the European Parliament.
“I plead guilty to defending Italy and the Italians”
Today, 51-year-old Salvini is one of the central figures in the three-party right-wing coalition, although the Lega’s recent election results were rather disappointing. He has always dismissed the accusations about the crackdown on “Open Arms” as a political fabrication of the left.
He demonstratively stayed away from the courtroom in Sicily’s capital Palermo. However, he made his statement in a dramatically staged, almost four-minute video. In his defense speech, he declared: “I plead guilty to defending Italy and the Italians. I plead guilty to keeping my word.”
Along with Meloni and her party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), the other coalition partner, the Forza Italia party founded by the now deceased former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, also came to his aid. Salvini was only doing his duty, they said. The minister also received support from US tech billionaire Elon Musk, who wrote on his platform X: “It is this crazy prosecutor who should go to prison for six years, that is crazy.” Musk has been active in the right-wing populist camp for some time.
Opposition and judges’ association criticise Meloni
Italy’s left-wing opposition, on the other hand, accused the coalition in Rome of trying to prevent a conviction in an impermissible way. The leader of the social democratic party PD, Elly Schlein, accused Meloni of ignoring the principle of the separation of powers between the government and the judiciary. The opposition has long accused the right-wing government of wanting to restructure the judiciary for political reasons. Italy’s Association of Judges and Public Prosecutors also defended itself against the accusations from Rome. In a statement, it also spoke of “impermissible pressure”.
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