Populist vs Globalist: New Italian Government Set for Conflict on Illegal Migration

As warmer and calmer weather on the Mediterranean approaches, the new Italian government is conflicted on illegal immigration as Matteo Salvini’s ally becomes undersecretary to the interior minister.

Salvini, the League’s leader, has sent Nicola Molteni to take up the position of undersecretary to the current Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese on Monday, a position Molteni held when Salvini served as interior minister in the first government of former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Molteni, who was supportive of Salvini’s anti-mass migration decrees, has promised to work with the current leftist minister for the interior in the new government led by former European Central Bank head Mario Draghi but has also called for a “change of course” as migrant numbers have risen, Il Giornale reports.

Salvini said that he and the League would support the Draghi government, but stipulated: “We will have to change strategy, even with the ports wide open.”

Interior Minister Lamorgese, meanwhile, has not signalled any change in her policies which have resulted in a dramatic rise in the number of new arrivals since she became the head of the Interior Ministry in the second government of Giuseppe Conte.

According to Italian media, Prime Minister Draghi is looking towards a European Union solution to illegal migration into Italy and has previously spoken to the Italian senate about his desire to back an EU migration pact.

“A challenge will be the negotiation on the new Pact for Migration and Asylum, in which we will pursue a decisive strengthening of the balance between the responsibilities of the countries of first entry and effective solidarity,” Draghi told senators last month.

“The construction of a European return policy for those not entitled to international protection will also be crucial, alongside full respect for the rights of refugees,” he added.

Over the last several years, the European Union has made attempts for a unified agreement on illegal migration, often with the proposal of redistribution of illegal migrants to release pressure from border states such as Italy and Greece.

These negotiations have largely failed as countries such as Poland and Hungary have rejected the redistribution of migrants to their countries.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com