Salvini: Only a “Martian” would focus on supporting immigration in times of crisis

“Companies on the brink of bankruptcy and citizens are in crisis. But the left, which is drifting further and further away from the needs of Italians, only focuses on immigration,” Giorgia Meloni, head of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party said, reacting to remarks by the Democratic Party’s new secretary, which Matteo Salvini has also strongly criticised.

“Is it possible that Letta wants to bring down the government?” Matteo Salvini asked, after expressing harsh criticism against Enrico Letta, the new leader of the Democratic Party. In his speech at the general assembly of the Democrats, Mr Letta stressed that he will continue to fight for granting citizenship to children born in Italy to immigrant parents and to support legal immigration.

In a recent interview, Mr Letta explained that in his view, the catastrophic demographic situation could be solved by legalising illegal immigration and speeding up the processing of citizenship applications.

“Only a Martian would care about immigration now when the whole government has to deal with closed schools, kindergartens and universities, as well as factories in difficulty and Italians with physical and mental problems. In the present situation, it is not important when we grant citizenship to immigrants,” Mr Salvini said, in connection with Mr Letta’s statement, adding that he would like to “remind Letta, who appeares to be confused, that Italy is precisely a European country that grants citizenship to immigrants if they enter the country legally.”

Democrats have rejected accusations that Mr Letta’s statement was intended to shake Italy’s multi-party coalition government, which includes the Democratic Party as well as Lega, led by Mr Salvini. They believe that the exact opposite is true: “Salvini is makes ridiculous accusations against Letta and threatens the government,” Democratic MP Graziano Delrio tweeted.