Italy's new, right-wing anti-immigrant interior minister Matteo Salvini has drawn Tunisian anger over comments he made about migrants. More Tunisian migrants have reached Italy this year than from any other country.
Image: Reuters/G. Mangiapane
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Tunisia's Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed "great surprise" over comments made by Salvini the day before. Known for his xenophobic comments during the election campaign, Salvini's words carry more weight now he is both interior minister and a deputy prime minister.
Salvini said during a local election rally for his League party in Sicily on Sunday that the African country "isn't exporting gentlemen, it seems more often they're exporting convicts."
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini in Sicily Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Lenzo
'Lack of understanding'
Summoning the Italian ambassador on Monday to discuss Salvini's comments, the Tunisian ministry said they showed a "lack of understanding" for the cooperation agreements between the two countries to prevent illegal immigration.
While Tunisia has largely stopped human-smuggling operations, the 2,889 Tunisian migrants who have reached Italy this year represent a higher figure than for any other country.
Speaking in Sicily on Monday, Salvini said Italy cannot afford to help the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have arrived from Africa and the Middle East in recent years. In accepting low pay, the migrants worsen the working conditions of Italians, Salvini claimed. The League party says the vast majority of migrants arriving since 2014 have no right to refugee status.
Italy "can't be transformed into a refugee camp," Salvini said in a radio interview. He added that he would lobby Italy's partners to obtain more EU assistance: "Either Europe gives us a hand in making our country secure, or we will choose other methods," he wrote on Twitter.
League strengthening in opinion polls
An opinion poll by the Ipsos agency published on Saturday in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera showed support for the League had risen to 28.5 percent from 17 percent at the March 4 election.
The League's coalition partner, the populist 5-Star Movement, has seen its support slip since it took 32.7 percent at the election. Its lead over the League is just 1.6 points.
Italy's populist government: Key players
After months of negotiations, Italy finally has a government with Giuseppe Conte at the helm. Conte's swearing in ended weeks of turmoil that rocked financial markets, but concerns among Italy's EU partners remain.
Image: picture-alliance/ROPI
Conte: Novice at the helm
Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor with no political experience, was picked by the League and 5-Star Movement (M5S) as their candidate for prime minister. He was forced to temporarily give up his leadership bid after the parties' cabinet selection was initially blocked. However, after the two parties struck a deal with President Sergio Mattarella, Conte was eventually sworn in on June 1.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Lore
Mattarella: President with the final say
President Sergio Mattarella faced calls for his impeachment after he prevented the populist alliance from taking office. He singled out its choice for finance minister, Paolo Savona, warning that an openly euroskeptic minister in that position went against the parties' joint promise to simply "change Europe for the better." After the parties agreed to replace Savona, Mattarella gave the go-ahead.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Solaro
Di Maio: Anti-austerity advocate
M5S chief Luigi Di Maio secured his party 32 percent of the vote in the March election. With the populist M5S-League coalition in power, Di Maio assumed the role of joint deputy prime minister and took over the economic development portfolio. The M5S leader has come under fire for his anti-immigration rhetoric, including calling rescue missions to save migrants from drowning a "sea-taxi service."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Fabi
Salvini: 'The Captain'
Matteo Salvini is the leader of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic League, which won 17 percent of the vote in the March election. A former MEP, he and his party have no experience in governing. Salvini has taken on the position of interior minister within Conte's Cabinet. Known for his hostile rhetoric toward immigrants and the EU, Salvini once described the euro a "crime against humanity."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Di Meo
Savona: Anti-euro radical
Paola Savona, initially tipped to lead the Finance Ministry, has called the euro a "German cage" and said that Italy needs a plan to leave the single currency. The 81-year-old's stance won him the backing of most Italian lawmakers but that wasn't enough to stop his appointment being vetoed. In his place steps Giovanni Tria, an economics professor without any previous government experience.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Frustaci
Cottarelli: Temporary caretaker
Carlo Cottarelli was set to become Italy's caretaker prime minster after the M5S-League alliance failed to have its controversial cabinet picks approved. The former IMF economist's time in the spotlight was short-lived, however. Political uncertainty in Italy rocked Europe's financial markets and prompted Mattarella to swiftly renegotiate and approve Salvini and Di Maio's governing coalition.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/S. Lore
Berlusconi: Vanquished enabler
Silvio Berlusconi (right) and his Forza Italia entered a four-party electoral alliance including League in the March election that secured the bloc 37 percent. Berlusconi is now upset at his right-wing ally Salvini after the League leader moved to work with M5S. Berlusconi has said he would act as a "reasonable and scrutinizing opposition."
