The founder of a far-right Italian party and the country’s likely future leader has called for a blockade of Libya to prevent migrants from crossing the Mediterranean.
The Brothers of Italy party’s leader, Giorgia Meloni, wants the Italian navy to blockade the north African coast so that all migrants may be checked before departing to see if they are real refugees.
Ryan Giggs, the former Manchester United player, came in court this morning and is scheduled to stand trial today on charges of beating and manipulating his ex-girlfriend and assaulting her sister.
Giggs gazed forward, flanked by his legal team, as he maThose who can verify their refugee status should be let in, Meloni added, while those who cannot should be returned home.
The 45-year-old is the current favourite to succeed Mario Draghi in a general election scheduled for September after Draghi’s cabinet disintegrated.
Meloni, who counts former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi among her supporters, made the remarks over the weekend.
Speaking on a Berlusconi-owned TV program, she said, ‘The issue of migrant landings on our coasts must be addressed at its source, with a “naval blockade.”
She compared the move to EU efforts to tighten border security, saying, ‘[This] is no different from a European mission to debate the potential of blocking the inflatable boats on their departure with Libya.’
However, Meloni’s ideas were met with opposition from political opponents who said that any effort to blockade the coastlines of a foreign country would constitute a de facto declaration of war.
‘Meloni, did you realize that it is considered an act of war under international law?’ tweeted former House Speaker Laura Boldrini.
‘Did you realize that the navy will need more ships than it already has?’ ‘Did you realize that the number of people who died would outweigh those who were rejected?’
Salvini, who spearheaded a campaign against migrant arrivals as interior minister, has also distanced himself, having previously advocated for legislative changes as a solution.
‘Those who blabber on today that the naval blockade cannot be done because it is “an act of war” exhibit their absolute ignorance on the topic of immigration,’ Meloni said on Facebook. At 9.15 a.m., he made his way past a swarm of cameras at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court. On November 1, 2020, the 48-year-old is accused of beating his former girlfriend, PR professional Kate Greville, 37, and inflicting her real bodily injury at his house in Worsley, Greater Manchester.
He is also accused of controlling and coercive behavior against Ms Greville during their relationship, which started in 2017 and culminated in the alleged attack.
According to the complaint, his actions against Ms Greville included “isolation, ridiculing, humiliation, harassment, degradation, and abuse.”
Giggs reportedly kicked Ms Greville in the back before tossing her out of a five-star hotel bedroom nude last year after she accused him of flirting with other women.
On the same day, the Welshman is also charged with common assault on her younger sister, Emma Greville.
Giggs was detained at his house by police in November 2020 and freed on bail.
In his initial court appearance in April of last year, he disputed the claims and pleaded not guilty.
Meloni is set to become Italy’s first female leader after a September 25 election triggered by Draghi’s resignation as Prime Minister.
Her group, Brothers of Italy, is viewed as the heir of Italy’s old fascist movement, and she started her political career in the Italian Social Movement, which was created by ex-fascists after WWII.
She then joined Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party before leaving in 2013 to start her own organization, the Brothers of Italy.
Despite using the historical flame sign from the Social Movement as part of their logo, the Brothers deny sympathy for fascism.
Meloni said last year that her party had “no tolerance for people yearning for fascism” and has spoken out against Italy’s unelected technocrat leaders.
However, some members of the party have been linked to Nazis.
Last year, a Brothers MEP was suspended after an undercover documentary revealed him discussing illicit fundraising with Nazi saluters and racial jokers.
Aside from the naval blockade, Maloni has suggested penalties for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who rescue migrants at sea and transport them to Italian receiving centers.
One of Salvini’s goals while in power was to crack down on NGOs. Meloni presently leads surveys six weeks before Italians vote in an emergency election triggered by Draghi’s forced resignation as Prime Minister.
The problem of migration has resurfaced as the major concern for Italians, which the political right wing hopes to capitalize on.
With tens of thousands entering each year, Italy is one of the primary “reception centers” for migrants arriving in Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
Around 67,500 refugees and migrants landed in the nation in 2021 alone, with roughly half arriving on the tiny island of Lampedusa, near the coasts of Tunisia and Libya.
Attempts to establish a center-left alliance to oppose the right-wingers mainly failed on Monday, bolstering Italy’s populists.
Just days after reaching an agreement with the center-left Democratic Party, which polls show is neck and neck with Meloni, the tiny Azione party resigned, claiming it could not cooperate with left-wingers brought in to enhance the coalition.
“You can’t explain to voters that in order to safeguard the constitution, you forge a deal with individuals you know you’ll never rule with,” moderate Azione leader Carlo Calenda told Corriere della Sera.
While Meloni has a solid partnership with Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, Letta is having difficulty bringing together the different progressive parties.
Letta criticized Calenda of refusing to negotiate with anybody, and he also chastised former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, head of the Italia Viva party, for refusing to join his coalition.
“It’s a way to support Meloni and Salvini,” Letta told La Stampa, adding that the conversations were now done and that he would concentrate on the campaign.