Lega Member Says Party Will Gain Popularity From Migration Trials Against Salvini

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2020) Trials against ex-Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini over migrant ships' blockage will likely earn his party additional electoral points, given public discontent with undocumented immigration, Lega member Paolo Grimoldi told Sputnik.

On Thursday, Italy's Senate voted to strip Salvini of his parliamentary immunity, paving the way for him to face charges over preventing the Spanish Open Arms rescue ship from docking at Lampedusa a year ago. The ex-minister is already set to stand trial in a similar case. Salvini insists that it was his duty as minister to stop irregular migrants from coming to Italy, as it was government policy at the time.

"Salvini was chosen by the democratic vote because of his readiness to deal with the illegal immigration. This trial from the electoral point of view helps us and we are ready to use it as a tool," Grimoldi said.

On the other hand, he noted, there is obviously a risk for this trial to turn into a potentially career-derailing case.

"If he is convicted, he could be expelled from the parliament. This is what we have to worry about," the politician added.

Last December, the Italian court of ministers in Sicily's Catania ruled that Salvini should be tried in similar case for allegedly depriving the asylum-seekers on board the Gregoretti coastguard ship of their liberty by refusing to allow them to disembark.

The opening court hearing in that case has been postponed until October due to coronavirus restrictions.

Despite legal complaints against the party leader, the Lega tops polls with support at around 26 percent, followed by the centre-left Democratic Party with 21 percent, according to last week's surveys.