ROME – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has conceded that her expectations for controlling irregular migration have fallen short since her far-right party’s historic electoral victory a year ago.
In an interview commemorating her party’s triumph, which aired on the TG1 channel late Saturday, Meloni stated, “Clearly, we had higher aspirations regarding immigration, an area where we exerted significant effort.”
“The outcomes have not met our expectations. Undoubtedly, it is an exceedingly intricate issue, but I am confident that we will delve deeper into it,” Meloni added.
Meloni’s post-fascist Brothers of Italy party secured its election in substantial part by pledging to curtail mass migration into Italy. However, the influx of individuals arriving by boat from North Africa has instead escalated. The Italian interior ministry has recorded over 130,000 arrivals thus far this year, compared to 70,000 during the same period in 2022.
Earlier this month, when 8,500 people arrived on the diminutive island of Lampedusa in just three days, Meloni urged the European Union to take more substantial action to alleviate the strain.
Brussels subsequently agreed to augment ongoing initiatives and announced this week that it would initiate disbursements to Tunisia, a key departure point for many of the migrant boats, as part of an agreement intended to curtail irregular migration from the nation.
However, Meloni’s primary coalition partner, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, has shown skepticism toward EU endeavors to manage the influx of arrivals, labeling it an “act of war.”
By AFP
