By Hamah Hosen –
Taking inspiration from Trump’s modern populist handbook, Matteo Salvini has embraced an ‘Italians first’ approach towards EU migration since his election as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Interior Minister of Italy. Salvini, acting as Italy’s de-facto leader, has also strategically chosen to focus on sensitive topics in Europe in order to gain the domestic support he needs to legitimise his policies. This can undoubtedly be seen in his strong anti-immigration stance.
The topic of migration has been on the agenda of the European Union since the drastic increase in the number of migrants and refugees crossing into European borders in 2015. However, this topic holds even greater impact in the political and social environment of Italy. In particular, Italy’s high peak of arrivals is heavily influenced by its geographical location. According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Italy has been the second-most popular destination country after Greece. Since 2018, 16,500 migrants and refugees have reached Italy by sea, making up a total of 471,000 migrants reaching Italy since 2015. These numbers are also a result of the EU’s Dublin Regulation which mandates that asylum-seekers must remain and be processed in the first country they reach. In recent years, this rule has led to a disproportionate strain on the Mediterranean nations in responding to the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea. While numbers of migration have decreased since the start of the migration crisis, Salvini has continued to push the issue of migration to the top of his political agenda in order to drive his party into power. As a result, it comes as no surprise that Salvini deliberately used an already brewing irrational fear of migration to successfully ride the train of populism into Italy.
Recently, the European Union has seen an increase of member states with populist parties in power which carry similar sentiments of anti-immigration and Euroscepticism. This increase has undoubtedly been influenced by the inability of the EU to create an agreed common asylum policy or response that would have helped destination states, such as Italy, during the migration crisis. As a result, the EU’s legitimacy and ability to deliver its promises of unity, prosperity, and growth are questioned by these nations. In response, these populist politicians, such as Salvini, have begun to take matters in their own hands in relation to migration. In particular, Salvini has refused to open Italy’s ports to migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean Sea due to his belief that these ships aid human traffickers in bringing migrants to Europe. This act received mass media and political attention when Salvini echoed Australia’s “stop the boats” policy in refusing to let Aquarius, an NGO ship carrying 629 African refugees, land on its shores. Despite being the nearest safe haven, Salvini treated the refugees as mere pawns in a chess game and left the boat adrift in international waters while EU member states debated their next move. Furthermore, since the Aquarius incident, Salvini has turned away two more migrant ships. This response to the issue of migration is reflective of the ‘Italians first approach’, as according to Salvini, the move ensures that Italy is saved from being “overrun by migrants”.
This move is concerned with fulfilling Salvini’s election promises and consequently preserving his political legitimacy. In particular, while the move gained attention from human rights organisations and the UNHCR, the move had cost Salvini nothing domestically. In fact, it has given him the ability to garner the domestic support he needs to continue his anti-immigration agenda. Additionally, Salvini, like other populist politicians, has utilised social media to further gain public support. Salvini continuously presents himself with an alluring presence while simultaneously creating an image that resembles the everyday man struggling with the same concerns that Italians face. In particular, during the Aquarius Incident, Salvini took to social media and made policy decisions through hashtags such as “we’re shutting our ports”. Amidst a political and social environment of Euroscepticism and distrust of mainstream politicians, such a move is highly effective in further spilling populism across Italy. Given that Salvini’s tenure began two months ago, it seems plausible that this hard-line approach will continue to be expressed by Salvini if Italians continue to feel left behind by the EU on the topic. Presently, it seems that Salvini has the clear majority of Italians standing resolutely behind him.
It is evident that Italy, despite its status as a founding member of the European Union, has found itself with a ticket on the train of populism that has recently stopped in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Salvini has buckled into his political seat aboard this train and is determined to reach the end of the trip with his new friends. Salvini insists that Italy’s alliances lie strongly with these nations and has called upon the creation of a ‘League of the Leagues of Europe’ in order to bring them all together. According to Salvini, this Europe-wide alliance is needed to unite “all the free and sovereign movements that want to defend their people and their borders.” This remark is supported by Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who also called for unity through “an axis of willing against illegal migration”. However, while these nations present a strong anti-immigration stance, their fundamental interests in responding to the crisis differ. In particular, Italy and other Mediterranean states want the EU to adopt a quota system for refugee settlement due to the impact the Dublin regulation has had upon them. However, Salvini’s new friends from Central and Eastern Europe have been firm opponents of this redistribution and resettlement approach. While Italy has gained a new set of friends, Salvini’s interests still remain close to those of Spain and Greece due to their shared geographical location. This divide was evident in the recent EU-Summit on migration where member states agreed on big promises with little details in order to gain consensus on the topic. Ultimately the continuous lack of legitimate concrete EU response to the migration crisis will just further extend this train ride of populism in the years to come while simultaneously picking up more passengers along the way.
