The arrival of migrants and the declaration of a state of emergency divided Italians

As the then prime minister Silvio Berlusconi did in 2011, Giorgia Meloni was decreed on Tuesday immigration emergency, “for more efficient and timely responses to flow management”. For the right-wing representative, who requests anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media about these topics, “Meloni had no other option.” The risk of a tsunami of migrants reaching Italy is very real.” According to the Ministry of the Interior, Almost 31,000 illegal immigrants have landed in this transalpine country so far this yearcompared to nearly 8,000 in the same period in 2022: a significant increase, especially for a leader who won election last fall on a campaign based, among other things, on fighting irregular immigration.

“We are full of immigrants: I see them on the street, in front of supermarkets, in shopping centers,” complains Paolo, a 50-year-old worker in the center of Venice. “Meloni is right, we need extraordinary measures to stop this invasion.” In the nearby town of Vicenza, Laura, a middle-aged shopkeeper, admits that “Irregular immigration worries me, but I’m more worried about the bills.” For Giorgi, a 30-year-old self-employed person, “when he was in the opposition, Meloni attacked all governments because of immigrants; only now realizes that heMigration flows do not depend on who is in charge in Rome, but on what is happening in Africa».

a question of age

According to Giacomo Cervo, coordinator of the youth branch of the Italian left in the northeast, the elderly are more concerned than the young: “Young people are paying attention to the issue, but they are far from the apocalyptic tones with which it is usually approached. I believe that the state of emergency is nothing more than a maneuver to show that the government intends to use a firm hand.

According to Andrea Cerona, professor of political science at the University of Milan, “the rhetoric of urgency is a classic characteristic of all populists: presenting every situation as critical and, therefore, requiring special and extraordinary solutions». For the academic, “focusing on the issue of irregular immigration is essential for the Government to avoid colossal damage to its image.” On Tuesday, the Minister of Marine Policy, Nello Musumeci, emphasized “the seriousness of the phenomenon that is increasing [de llegadas] 300%” and that Italy alone can do little to solve the problem “It is connected with the conscious and responsible intervention of the EU”.

It may seem ironic that the Italian right, which until a few years ago attacked the EU (in some cases even wanted to leave the euro), is now looking for salvation in Brussels. But, as the right-wing deputy told La Voz, “Meloni is a Europragmatist: faced with enormous forces like the demographic boom in Africa, there is little that Italy, Spain and even Germany can do alone.

The state of emergency will speed up procedures to offer immigrants “acceptance solutions with appropriate standards”. The five million euros dedicated will also enable the increase of structures for the repatriation of migrants without the right to stay in Italy, by strengthening identification and expulsion activities.

But for Riccardo Noury, spokesman for Amnesty International Italy, the government’s urgent measures “should focus on strengthening reception facilities, which must be adequately equipped to help migrants and asylum seekers, with pay special attention to vulnerable groups».