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Italy’s Salvini Eyes Revival After Virus Spreads Among Migrants

Italy’s Salvini Eyes Revival After Virus Spreads Among Migrants

Italian opposition leader Matteo Salvini is seeking to capitalize on a coronavirus outbreak among migrants to press his core campaign platform, saying a trial over his past crackdown will lift his party’s flagging poll numbers.

Salvini, the populist head of the anti-migrant League party, ripped into the government led by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after more than 100 migrants tested positive for the coronavirus at a center in Treviso, in the north of the country.

Italy’s Salvini Eyes Revival After Virus Spreads Among Migrants

After making headlines earlier this week by refusing to wear a mask during a virus conference, Salvini used the Treviso outbreak to vilify the policies of Conte’s coalition during a speech at the Senate in Rome.

“They track Italians with masks while allowing hundreds who are potentially infected to come off the boats and onto the beaches, damaging our tourism,” Salvini said.

Senators later voted to authorize a second trial for Salvini over moves to stop migrants from landing in the country during his tenure as interior minister in Conte’s previous government.

The trial will be a “boomerang,” Salvini said in comments cited by daily la Repubblica Friday. “From this affair, I’ll gain 10 points in the polls.”

Salvini’s popularity slumped after a nationwide virus lockdown robbed him of opportunities to hold his signature rallies across the country, and the League has lost 10% in opinion polls since last year’s European elections. Still, it remains Italy’s most popular political force.

Italy’s Salvini Eyes Revival After Virus Spreads Among Migrants

The latest legal case is prompted by Salvini blocking the Open Arms ship carrying rescued migrants from docking in Sicily in 2019. Prosecutors have charged the former interior minister with kidnapping in the case. Salvini says he was following government policy.

Anti-Migrant Credentials

While the Open Arms case gives Salvini a chance to play up his anti-migrant credentials, proceedings will likely to drag through the courts for years, which could prevent him from seeking the premiership for the center-right.

Salvini already faces a separate trial in a similar case involving Coast Guard vessel Gregoretti in July 2019. That trial is due to begin in early October.

Salvini risks losing his Senate seat if the courts find him definitively guilty in either case, Repubblica said.

Salvini’s renewed attacks potentially pose a threat to political stability in Italy as Conte tries to drag the economy out of the worst recession in living memory. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement, the biggest partner in Conte’s coalition, has been competing with Salvini on migration issues, fueling tensions within the administration.

The summer has seen an upturn in migration from north Africa, with 5,000 of this year’s 13,000 arrivals coming from Tunisia.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.