"At the ministry I am having a dossier prepared on the Roma issue in Italy, because after Roberto Maroni nothing has been done, and it is chaos". The goal is to carry out "a survey of the Roma in Italy to see who, how, how many there are", i.e. "redo what was called 'the census', to arrive at a registry office, not a filing", and expel the Irregular Roma: "Unfortunately we have to keep those Italians". This was the shocking announcement that came on Monday from Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who increased the dose the next day: ""Census" of Roma and control of public money spent. If the left proposes it, it's fine, if I propose it, it's RACISM. I don't give up and I go straight! First the Italians and their safety”, wrote the owner of the Viminale on Twitter.
The Northern League leader's words immediately sparked a controversy with his government allies. The political leader of the 5 Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, has in fact distanced himself: "I am pleased that Salvini has denied any hypothesis of filing immigrants, because if something is unconstitutional it cannot be done", said the minister of Work.
Salvini then specified: “It is not our intention to register or fingerprint anyone. Our goal is a survey of the situation of the Roma camps. First of all, we intend to protect thousands of children who are not allowed to attend school regularly because it is preferred to introduce them to delinquency. We also want to check how the millions of euros that come from European funds are spent".
In the ranks of the opposition, it is above all Paolo Gentiloni who criticizes Salvini's initiative, who writes on Twitter: “Yesterday the refugees, today the Roma, tomorrow guns for everyone. How tiring it is to be bad”.
The Democratic Party, through the mouth of Senator Franco Mirabelli, defines the Interior Minister's dossier as "chilling", because it evokes initiatives of "ethnic cleansing".
Nicola Fratoianni, from LeU, reminds Salvini that "the majority of Roma are EU citizens, so it would be like registering the French present in our country".
In the centre-right they approve albeit with various distinctions. "The census is good - declares Giorgia Meloni - but we need pitches for parking".
“Censorship does not mean branding”, explains Elisabetta Gardini, Forza Italia group leader in Brussels, from the European Parliament. But the broadside from EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici comes from the Belgian capital: "Even if interfering in the internal affairs of a country, commenting on this or that shocking or chilling statement can be a temptation that is extremely difficult to resist, I will resist with all forces. I say that the EU Commission will exercise its powers with the rules at its disposal. There are rules in economic and financial matters but also in the rule of law. They are our common rules and must be respected by everyone”.
(Last update at 14.40)
