An illegal Tunisian migrant, who had been deported from Italy, mocked populist leader Matteo Salvini after getting back into the country, saying he was glad Salvini was gone.
The Tunisian is one of around 2,000 migrants who have landed in Italy in September and was interviewed by Italian media on the island of Lampedusa last week, Italian broadcaster TGCOM24 reports.
“I came in 2011. They expelled me in 2019. I had a residence permit. Then I participated in a fight, and they denounced me. Because at that time, there was Salvini,” the Tunisian said.
“I know he’s not there anymore and I’m happy about it,” he added. The migrant confirmed that many in Tunisia knew that Salvini was no longer in the Italian government and claimed that more migrants were leaving the North African country for Italy every day.
Senator Salvini reacted to the interview with the Tunisian by saying: “‘Expelled because of Salvini, he is already back. And with the new [Italian] government, many migrants are ready to leave Tunisia to come to Italy.’ This is madness! Shame on you Conte, you are destroying Italy!”
He added that the video was “one more reason” for supporters to join him and the League at a major rally in Rome on the 19th of October at the Piazza San Giovanni.
Salvini has repeatedly slammed the leftist Italian coalition government of the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party which has opened the country’s ports to migrant transport NGOs. As interior minister, Matteo Salvini had closed the ports to NGO ships.
“Now the new leftist government is reopening the ports: hardly advocates of the Italians. Here, I see advocates of illegal immigrants,” Salvini said last month.
“The new government reopens the ports and Italy goes back to being Europe’s REFUGEE CAMP,” he said.
“Today, slavers, racists, and colonisers, exploiters of women and men, are only found on the left,” he added.
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