PM Giorgia Meloni warned that Mr. Salvini's legal case sets a dangerous precedent.Continue reading
The Italian and Hungarian governments are in complete harmony on security, job creation, the fight against human trafficking and the promotion of peace, Lega leader Matteo Salvini told Italian public broadcaster RAI on Friday evening, also commenting on the indictment against him and his visit to Budapest.
Matteo Salvini answered questions on the RAI1 television channel’s program Cinque Minuti (Five Minutes). The leader of the Lega party, who is also deputy prime minister, commented first of all on Friday’s hearing of the case against him. The Spanish NGO Open Arms and the representatives of the migrants it transported to Italy have demanded one million euros in damages from Matteo Salvini for what they accuse him of “inhuman behavior” and an affront to the dignity of migrants.
Asked if he considered it right to have refused to allow 147 migrants to disembark for more than two weeks, Matteo Salvini said: “I consider it absolutely right. I was obliged by law and by my conscience to do so. As a father, I consider it my duty to save lives both at sea and on land, but there is no rule that can oblige me to open the borders of my country to illegal immigrants arriving on foreign boats.” He noted that those on board the boat were given full care.
He added that he was not asking for a gold medal, but he did not deserve six years in prison. He expects not to be convicted because, “protecting my country’s borders is not a crime, it is a duty.”
Salvini said that in recent days he had received thousands of expressions of solidarity on social networking sites, other internet channels and on the streets.
Even those who do not vote for Lega told me not to give up,”
he highlighted.
As reported by Hungary Today, several conservative leaders have rallied behind Mr. Salvini. Last week on X, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised him as “Europe’s bravest patriot” and condemned the punishment for stopping illegal immigration. He added: “Those who defend Europe are constantly penalized.“
During the interview, asked whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had distanced himself from the Italian government, whose Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), while Matteo Salvini has joined a new EP party family, Patriots for Europe, (PfE) with Lega, Mr. Salvini said:
Not at all, there is complete harmony between the Italian and Hungarian governments on security, job creation, combating human trafficking and promoting peace.”
È stato un piacere incontrare l’amico @PM_ViktorOrban qui a Budapest, dove ho partecipato al Consiglio informale dei ministri dei Trasporti UE e ai bilaterali con i colleghi di Ungheria, Germania e Albania.
Oltre un’ora di confronto sulla cooperazione tra i nostri due… pic.twitter.com/3yKQxHa7De— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) September 20, 2024
He confirmed that on October 18, when Salvini’s defense lawyer will speak in the Sicilian court, the PfE parties will also be represented.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán