Right Wing Italian Politician On Trial For Kidnapping
Matteo Salvini, Italian Interior Minister, went on trial for kidnapping and abuse of power. (Flickr)
Matteo Salvini, one of the most powerful politicians in Italy and one of the far-right leaders in Europe, has gone on trial on charges of kidnapping, first appearing in court on October 3. The accusations stem from a 2019 incident in which he blocked more than a hundred migrants from disembarking a docked coast guard ship for several days. The fate of Salvini’s political career, which has included stints as Minister of the Interior and head of the right-wing League party, hangs in the balance.
Salvini started as a Member of the European Parliament and went on to serve twice in the Chamber of Deputies before being elected leader of the Northern League, then a largely regional party dedicated to increasing the autonomy of Northern Italy. Under the leadership of Salvini, the party’s platform became increasingly nationalistic, Eurosceptic, and powerful throughout Italy. Within a few years, the party—rebranded as simply the League—grew to become the dominant force on the Italian right, and Salvini came to lead the right-wing faction in the 2018 elections. After successfully forming a coalition government, Salvini was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.
As Interior Minister, Salvini pursued a hardline stance against illegal immigration and attempted to crack down on the flow of refugees and migrants through the country. Only a few days after taking the post, Salvini announced that Italian ports would be closed to ships carrying migrants across the Mediterranean, justifying the policies as a supposed measure against human trafficking. Throughout his tenure, Salvini’s hardline policy led to several incidents in which ships—many operated by NGOs, but some even operated by his country’s own Coast Guard—were refused permission to dock in Italian waters. In total, authorities under Salvini’s command engaged in 25 standoffs with migrant-carrying vessels.
In July 2019, Salvini blocked the Gregoretti, an Italian Coast Guard ship, from allowing the 135 migrants it had on board to disembark for five whole days. Prosecutors in Sicily have accused Salvini of aggravated kidnapping and abuse of power, charges that could carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. In February, the Italian Senate voted to lift Salvini’s parliamentary immunity, allowing a trial to proceed.
Salvini has attempted to make the most of his trial by turning it into a political event. Salvini has rallied his supporters to his defense, declaring to the press that he “will plead guilty to defending Italy and the Italians.” The League has planned a “festival” around Salvini’s trial, featuring “dinners, concerts, exhibitions, debates, and panel discussions” with prominent figures from across the Italian right. The Gregoretti trial, however, is far from the only legal dispute in which Salvini is embroiled. Salvini has been the subject of five investigations in two years since coming to power, and he may soon face a similar trial over an incident involving the NGO rescue ship Open Arms.
Salvini’s trial comes at a tenuous time for him and the League. Recent regional elections proved underwhelming for the League, with the party failing to flip the left-wing stronghold of Tuscany in the hotly contested election of the cycle. As a result, the widespread narrative that Salvini and the League are on the downswing has taken root. Indeed, the outcome of this trial may prove decisive for Salvini: according to Professor Anna Simone of Roma Tre University, “if the court judges him innocent, he will re-emerge with new strength from his current decline, as he will be able to play the card of the victim haunted by the judiciary. But if he is convicted, that will be Salvini’s political definite downfall.”