Matteo Salvini

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Matteo Salvini (2019)
Signature of Matteo Salvini

Matteo Salvini (born March 9, 1973 in Milan ) is an Italian journalist , politician and federal party secretary of the Lega Nord and a member of the Italian Senate .

He was Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the Conte I cabinet from June 2018 to September 2019 .

Life

Salvini is the child of a housewife and a manager. He attended the Liceo ginnasio statale Alessandro Manzoni in Milan and graduated in 1992 with a humanistic high school diploma. He began studying history at the University of Milan and dropped out. Since 1997 he describes himself as a professional journalist. In 1999 he became editor of the party broadcaster Radio Padania Libera , the Lega Nord broadcaster for the propagation of an independent Padania .

He is divorced and has two children.

Political career

Salvini joined the Lega Lombarda in 1990 at the age of 17 , one of the “national” associations of the Lega Nord (the northern Italian separatists referred to the individual regions as “nations”, the Lega Nord was only the umbrella organization). In 1993 he was elected to the Milan City Council, of which he was a member until 2013. From 1994 to 1997 he was in charge of the youth organization of the Lega Nord ( Movimento Giovani Padani ) in Milan. He was initially assigned to the left wing of the party. In 1994 Salvini campaigned for the preservation of the autonomous center Leoncavallo , founded by left-wing squatters , which the Mayor of Milan Marco Formentini (also a member of the Lega Nord) wanted to close. When the Lega Nord held elections for a “Padanian Parliament” in 1997, to which several fictitious parties ran (in fact almost all candidates were members of the Lega Nord), Salvini was the top candidate of the “Padanian Communists”. From 1998 to 2004 Salvini was party secretary of the Lega Nord in the province of Milan and from 1998 to 2002 federal coordinator of the Movimento Giovani Padani .

Salvini at a rally of the youth organization Giovani Padani , 2006

In the 2004 European elections , he was in the European Parliament elected, he put the mandate, however, in November 2006 low. From July 2004 to April 2006 he was a member of the EU-skeptical independence / democracy group . In the Italian parliamentary elections in 2008 , he received a seat in the Chamber of Deputies . However, he gave this up after the European elections in 2009 when he again moved into the EU Parliament. In the legislative period up to 2014 he sat in the Eurosceptic and right-wing populist group Europe of Freedom and Democracy , was a member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection and a delegate for relations with India and for relations with the Korean Peninsula. In June 2012 he was elected national party secretary of the Lega Lombarda.

In the party's primary election for federal chairman of the Lega Nord in December 2013, Salvini stood up against the party founder and long-time chairman Umberto Bossi . With 81.7% of the vote, Salvini prevailed against his competitor. Since December 13, 2013 he has been the federal chairman (segretario federale) of the Lega Nord. In addition to the former party chairman Bossi, he is an exponent of the right-wing populist and xenophobic realignment of the Lega Nord. Under the chairmanship of Matteo Salvini, the Lega Nord radicalized and assumed a leadership role in the Italian right that goes beyond its core area. He transformed the Lega "into a right-wing populist party that is against the European Union, the euro and globalization". The topic of immigration became an important part of party rhetoric under Salvini at the latest, according to Eva Garau , who also attests to radicalization.

In the 2014 European elections , Salvini was re-elected as a member of the EU parliament for another term. In the meantime he was non-attached . Since June 2015 he has been a member of the newly formed Europe of Nations and Freedom Group , of which he was Vice-Chairman. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Committee on International Trade and the Delegation to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (ACP-EU) as well as a deputy member of the Development Committee and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Cooperation Committees EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Uzbekistan and EU -Tajikistan and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia.

After the parliamentary elections in March 2018, he entered the Italian Senate.

On June 1, 2018, he was sworn in as Minister of the Interior in the Conte I cabinet. Together with Luigi Di Maio , he was also Deputy Prime Minister. On August 8, 2019, Salvini announced the break of the coalition, twelve days later Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced his resignation and the end of his government made up of the Five Star Movement and Lega Nord.

Political positions

In 2009, Salvini proposed racial segregation of immigrants and Italians in railroad cars. He spoke out in favor of reintroducing a criminal offense to combat illegal immigration . In July 2013, Salvini commented on the Pope's speech on Lampedusa, saying that Francis should not promote the “ globalization of the criminal”. About Roma and Sinti , Salvini said that if they were perceived as “thieves” in public, there had to be a reason for it.

Salvini called the euro in 2014 a “criminal currency”. Together with the neo-fascist CasaPound , he pleaded for the suspension of the Schengen Agreement in 2014 , and he could count on the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin , whom he met in Moscow in autumn 2014. After a homicide in Milan, Salvini blamed the Italian integration minister , Cécile Kyenge, for inciting crimes through her politics. At that time the Northern League was campaigning against the Afro-Italian politician. When the then Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano , commented on racist comments about Kyenge in July 2013, Salvini asked him to shut up. After the death of the former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in September 2016, Salvini described him as "one of the traitors of Italy and the Italians".

In his study for the Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies on the relationship between the European radical right and Russia, the historian Antonis Klapsis identified Salvini as a pro-Russian sympathizer in relation to his position in the course of the Crimean crisis in March 2014. Salvini traveled to Moscow in mid-October 2014 and there assured the chairman of the State Duma , Sergei Naryshkin , that his party would be committed to the “reunification” of Crimea with Russia. According to Klapsis, he previously criticized the economic sanctions imposed on Russia and Italy's too close economic proximity to Germany and the USA. Klapsis also reports on a press conference where Salvini is said to have spoken out in favor of Russia joining the EU . In this context, Giovanni Savino saw a new alliance between Italian neo- Eurasists and Islamophobic populists like Matteo Salvini (Lega Nord) and Marine Le Pen ( Front National ) in 2015 . A close advisor to Salvini is the chairman of the Lombardy-Russia Cultural Association (Associazione Culturale Lombardia Russia), Gianluca Savoini. The cultural association cooperates with the Lega Nord and ideologically represents a neo-Eurasism based on the neo-fascist Alexander Dugin . Savoini organized meetings between Salvini and Russian politicians and accompanied Salvini on his trips to Russia. According to court documents, Savoini has contacts with right-wing extremists who fought for Russia against Ukraine, some of whom were arrested in Italy in August 2018. The Lega has had an official association agreement with the Russian ruling party United Russia since 2017 . The gray eminence Sergio Romano compared Berlusconi's friendship with Putin with that of Salvini: Berlusconi met Putin on an equal footing, but Salvini was "a water carrier of Putin". Putin used Salvini "to harm the European Union."

In March 2015, Salvini invited supporters of the Greek neo-Nazi party Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn”) as well as the activist of the New Right Götz Kubitschek from Germany to a large rally in Rome .

After a former Lega Nord candidate and neo-Nazi shot and injured six African migrants in an attack in Macerata , Salvini tweeted that it was " uncontrolled immigration " that was leading to "chaos, anger and social clashes". In a verbal exchange of blows with the Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn during an EU ministerial meeting in Vienna in September 2018, Salvini spoke out against “new slaves” - meaning migrants from Africa - in Italy. Instead, he advocates that “Italian and European young people bring more children into the world”. Asselborn described Salvini's remarks and the unannounced filming and later publication of the discussion by Salvini as “the methods and tones of the fascists of the 1930s” and also pointed out the high number of Italian migrants, many of whom emigrated to Luxembourg. In 2018, Salvini spoke out against the Austrian government's plans to give South Tyroleans dual Austrian-Italian citizenship, but felt that he was “allied with Austria's government in Europe and shared 99 percent of their struggles”.

As Italy's interior minister, Salvini followed a course that was hostile to refugees. Ships from aid organizations are no longer allowed to dock in Italian ports, and asylum seekers are to be accommodated in larger refugee centers. In October 2018, Salvini had several hundred migrants from Riace, which is known throughout Europe as a prime example of the integration of refugees in Calabria, into refugee shelters. The public prosecutor's office is investigating the mayor of the municipality with the allegation of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.

As Minister of the Interior, Salvini planned to draw up a racial census on Sinti and Roma living in Italy . He claimed that Roma children in Italy were "taught theft and illegality" but that "unfortunately" the Italian Roma could not be deported abroad. Such an ethnic registration of the citizens violates the Italian constitution, which is why Italy's Prime Minister Conte, as Salvini's superior, thwarted the plans.

Controversy

As Minister of the Interior in 2018, Salvini threatened to withdraw police protection (which he received because of death threats from the Mafia) from the well-known Italian opponent of the Mafia and investigative journalist Roberto Saviano after Saviano criticized Salvini. Saviano accused Salvini of being close to the Mafia 'Ndrangheta .

During Salvini's trip to Moscow in October 2018, his press spokesman, Gianluca Savoini, met with three Russian confidants of President Vladimir Putin and other Italians to negotiate illegal donations to the Lega in the amount of 65 million US dollars. The affair came to the public in July 2019 through secretly recorded conversations and led to investigations by the Italian public prosecutor. The coalition partner Five Stars and the opposition called for a parliamentary committee of inquiry. During the same period, Salvini's party was sentenced by the Italian Supreme Court to repay illegally received public funding of 50 million euros to the Italian state. In February 2019, the Italian magazine L'Espresso reported on another attempt by the Lega to obtain illegal funds amounting to 3 million US dollars from Russia. The Lega has had an official association agreement with the Russian ruling party United Russia led by Vladimir Putin since 2017 .

The port entry refused in 2019: Bruno Gregoretti

On August 25, 2018, the Italian judiciary initiated an investigation into deprivation of liberty , illegal arrest and abuse of power against Salvini because, on his personal instructions, people had been detained on the Italian Coast Guard ship “ Diciotti ” . The ship Aquarius with the 629 castaways was not given a permit to enter an Italian port, even if this violated international maritime law , as castwrecked persons had to be brought to the nearest safe port. French President Emmanuel Macron accused Salvini of cynicism and irresponsibility. The Senate rejected Salvini's immunity waiver in February 2019, so the investigation against him could not continue. In July 2019, Salvini prevented the Italian coast guard ship Bruno Gregoretti (CP 920) from arriving with rescued migrants on board for days . A court in Catania accuses him of abuse of office and deprivation of liberty. His immunity was lifted in February 2020. The process is scheduled to begin on October 3, 2020.

In August 2019, Salvini, as Interior Minister, prevented the NGO ship Open Arms with 80 rescued migrants on board from entering for weeks. The public prosecutor's office accuses him after investigations of having detained the rescued migrants on the rescue ship beyond his authority. Salvini's immunity was lifted at the end of July 2020 to enable a trial in Palermo.

In the case of the sea ​​rescue by Sea-Watch 3 under Captain Rackete , Interior Minister Salvini verbally attacked both the Italian judiciary and the aid organization Sea Watch and Captain Rackete. The coroner was grossly insulted and received death threats on social media. The Italian judges' association ANM accused Salvini of nurturing a climate of hatred and aversion. The UN human rights experts of the UN Human Rights Council condemned the criminalization of sea rescue and the intimidation of the independent Italian judiciary by the media and Interior Minister Salvini on July 18. At the beginning of September 2019, the public prosecutor in Rome commissioned the search and preservation of evidence of the social media accounts of the former interior minister Salvini as part of a libel suit filed by Rackete. The investigation against Salvini has been closed.

Salvini was repeatedly criticized for his proximity to neo-fascism. Among other things, he published his book "Io Sono Matteo Salvini" in Altaforte-Verlag, whose boss, Francesco Polacchi, is close to the neo-fascist CasaPound party, who openly professes fascism and is an admirer of Benito Mussolini. Salvini was also criticized for wearing clothes from the Pivet brand, which is particularly popular in neo-fascist and neo-Nazi circles. Salvini was also criticized for boycotting Remembrance Day for Liberation from Fascism and thus encouraging right-wing extremist groups. Salvini also attracted attention several times through allusions to Mussolini. So he used z. B. on Mussolini's birthday from a famous quote from the dictator.

At the end of July 2020, the Italian Senate lifted Salvini's immunity in order to have allegations of deprivation of liberty and abuse of office judged against him in a second court case in Palermo. During his time as Minister of the Interior, Salvini initially did not allow the ship Open Arms of the Spanish sea rescue organization Proactiva Open Arms with dozens of refugees on board to land in Italy, although six EU countries had agreed to accept them.

Movies

Documentaries

Web links

Commons : Matteo Salvini  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rodolfo Sala: Il ragazzaccio del Carroccio dai boyscout al Leoncavallo . In: La Repubblica . May 27, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  2. ↑ Curriculum Vitae , European Parliament website. Archive of July 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Matteo Pucciarelli: Salvini, the climber. From Padan communist to superstar of European right-wing populists. In: Le Monde diplomatique , June 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Marco Brando: Salvini viene dai centri sociali. E dal comunismo al nazionalismo il passo non è stato breve. In: Fatto Quotidiano , December 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b c EP: Vita: Matteo Salvini. In: europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  6. ^ Daniele Albertazzi, Duncan McDonnell: Populists in Power (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-60097-2 , p. 37.
  7. ^ Carl Levy: Racism, immigration and new identities in Italy . In: Andrea Mammone, Ercole Giap Parini, Giuseppe A. Veltri (Eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Italy: History, politics, society . Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-60417-8 , p. 52.
  8. ↑ Alexander Grasse (et al.): Between Crisis Management Policy, Novitism and Italia 3.0 . In: Grasse, Alexander, Grimm, Markus, Labitzke, Jan (eds.): Italy between crisis and new beginnings. Reforms and attempts at reform by the Renzi government , VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-16091-3 , p. 533
  9. ^ Markus Grimm: The party as an election aid association . In: Grasse, Alexander, Grimm, Markus, Labitzke, Jan (eds.): Italy between crisis and new beginnings. Reforms and attempts at reform by the Renzi government , VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN, 978-3-658-16091-3, p. 191
  10. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 202.
  11. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 140.
  12. ↑ EP: 6th Parliament - Matteo Salvini. In: europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  13. ↑ zeit.de August 9, 2019 / Ulrich Ladurner : Matteo Salvini is unstoppable
  14. ↑ zeit.de August 20, 2019: He gambled away
  15. ↑ spiegel.de August 20, 2019 / Frank Hornig: "We don't need anyone who wants to take full power"
  16. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 112.
  17. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 101.
  18. ^ Gazetta del Sud: Northern League secretary chides pope over migrants. In: gazzettadelsud.it. Gazetta del Sud, July 8, 2013, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  19. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 199.
  20. ^ Eva Garau: Politics of National Identity in Italy: Immigration and 'Italianità (= Extremism and Democracy ). Routledge, New York et al. a. 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-62779-5 , p. 198.
  21. ↑ WirtschaftsBlatt: Two Italian parties are calling for an exit from the euro zone. (No longer available online.) In : wirtschaftsblatt.at. WirtschaftBlatt, December 11, 2014, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; Retrieved June 19, 2015 .
  22. ^ Corriere: Lega e CasaPound, in tanti in piazza Salvini: "Sospendere Schengen". In: milano.corriere.it. Corriere della Sera, October 18, 2014, accessed June 19, 2015 (Italian).
  23. ↑ Michael Braun: Racist agitation in Italy: "Repatriate Kyenge immediately". In: The daily newspaper. June 20, 2013, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  24. ↑ Nina Damsch: “Kill them!” Rages the mob on the Internet: threats of murder and violence against Italy's first black minister. In: Focus. June 28, 2013, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  25. ^ Nick Squires: Italy race row "has shamed whole country". In: The Telegraph. July 15, 2013, accessed June 19, 2015 .
  26. ^ Carlo Azeglio Ciampi morto, per Salvini “è stato un traditore come Napolitano e Prodi”. Grasso: “Sciacallo”. In: Il Fatto Quotidiano. September 16, 2016, accessed July 1, 2019 (Italian).
  27. ^ Antonis Klapsis: An Unholy Alliance: The European Far Right and Putin's Russia . Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies, Brussels, May 2015, ISBN (to come), p. 41.
  28. ^ Antonis Klapsis: An Unholy Alliance: The European Far Right and Putin's Russia . Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies, Brussels, May 2015, ISBN (to come), p. 51 f.
  29. ^ Giovanni Savino: From Evola to Dugin: The Neo-Eurasianist Connection in Italy . In: Marlene Laruelle (Ed.): Eurasianism and the European Far Right: Reshaping the Europe-Russia Relationship . Lexington Books, Lanham 2015, ISBN 978-1-4985-1068-4 , p. 117 .
  30. ^ Giovanni Savino: The Italian Russophile Rightist Parties: a New Love for Moscow? In: Russian Analytical Digest No. 167, May 2015, pp. 8-11.
  31. ↑ Salvini, è polemica sugli incontri politici a Mosca: "Con lui anche l'ideologo Savoini. A che titolo? “ In: La Repubblica , July 17, 2018.
  32. ↑ Che ci il faceva putiniano Gianluca Savoini con Salvini in Russia . In: Il Foglio , July 18, 2018.
  33. ↑ Here's A Totally Incredible Story About Pro-Russian Mercenaries And A Close Aide To Italy's De Facto Leader . In: BuzzFeed News , September 13, 2018.
  34. ^ A b Friedrich Schmidt and Jörg Bremer: Cooperation with Kremlin Party: Italian Begging Tour in Russia . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 10, 2017.
  35. ↑ Putin's Poodle , Tages-Anzeiger , July 17, 2019, p. 2
  36. ^ Tilmann Kleinjung: Soaring of the Italian right . Deutschlandfunk , March 23, 2015.
  37. ^ ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, vu: Italy: Berlusconi describes migrants as a “social bomb”. In: zeit.de . February 5, 2018, accessed February 26, 2018 .
  38. ↑ Xenophobia in the Italian election campaign. In: Der Tagesspiegel. February 6, 2018, accessed July 30, 2019 .
  39. ↑ NTV: "Shit again" Salvini and Asselborn clash , September 14, 2018
  40. ↑ Spiegel Online: EU ministers apparently secretly filmed by colleagues - The Salvini scandal - a trap? , September 15, 2018
  41. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten: Salvini confirms Italy's veto against one-two , October 14, 2018
  42. ↑ n-tv NEWS: Refugees leave integration village . October 14, 2018, accessed July 30, 2019 .
  43. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Conte rejects the demand for Roma census. June 20, 2018, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  44. ↑ How Salvini plays the Mafia game. June 25, 2018, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  45. ↑ Russian money for Salvini's Lega? Investigation initiated. July 12, 2019, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  46. ↑ Revealed: The Explosive Secret Recording That Shows How Russia Tried To Funnel Millions To The “European Trump”. July 10, 2019, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  47. ↑ Will Italy have an "Ibiza Affair" soon? Salvini denies alleged Russian deal. July 11, 2019, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  48. ↑ First interrogations on alleged money from Moscow for Italy's Lega. July 15, 2019, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  49. ↑ Salvini party has to repay almost 50 million euros. August 7, 2019, accessed August 8, 2019 .
  50. ^ Italian MPs demand answers over claims Salvini's League sought Kremlin funding. February 22, 2019, accessed September 8, 2019 .
  51. ^ Italy: Justice investigates Interior Minister Salvini . In: Spiegel Online . August 25, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed August 25, 2018]).
  52. ^ "Aquarius" refugees: cynicism and irresponsibility
  53. ↑ Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli: Italian senators reject call to lift Salvini's immunity. February 19, 2019, accessed July 30, 2019 .
  54. ↑ Italy's Senate lifts Salvini's immunity. tagesspiegel.de, February 12, 2020, accessed on February 14, 2020 .
  55. ^ Salvini's immunity revoked. tagesschau.de, July 30, 2020, accessed on July 30, 2020 .
  56. ↑ Migrants go ashore on Lampedusa . Time August 21, 2019, accessed August 7, 2020.
  57. ↑ Senate lifts former Interior Minister Salvini's immunity . Time, July 31, 2020, accessed August 7, 2020.
  58. ↑ Sea-Watch: Protection required for female judge after Rackete's release . Die Presse July 4, 2019, accessed October 26, 2019.
  59. ↑ Italy: UN experts condemn criminalization of migrant rescues and threats to the independence of judiciary . OHCHR, July 18, 2019, accessed October 26, 2019.
  60. ↑ Elizabeth Schumacher: Salvini investigated for libel against German boat captain Carola Rackete . Deutsche Welle September 6, 2019, accessed October 25, 2019.
  61. ↑ Dispute with Carola Rackete: Public prosecutor's office closes investigations against Salvini . Focus February 12, 2020. accessed February 14, 2020.
  62. ^ Right-wing populism in Italy - Matteo Salvini's questionable proximity to neo-fascism. May 8, 2019, accessed January 21, 2020 .
  63. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Italy: Turin Book Fair excludes right-wing publisher - DER SPIEGEL - culture. Accessed January 21, 2020 .
  64. ↑ a b Salvinis flirtation with the fascists. May 9, 2019, accessed January 21, 2020 .
  65. ↑ Andrea Spalinger, Rome: Italy is playing a dangerous game with neofascism | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . ( nzz.ch [accessed on January 21, 2020]).
  66. ^ WORLD: Right-wing populist: Italy's Interior Minister Salvini outraged with allusion to Mussolini . July 30, 2018 ( welt.de [accessed January 21, 2020]).
  67. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: Italy: Interior Minister Matteo Salvini irritates with a fascist quote - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Accessed January 21, 2020 .
  68. ^ Comment on Twitter: Italy's interior minister outraged with a fascist quote from Mussolini's time. Accessed January 21, 2020 .
  69. ^ Salvini's immunity revoked , tagesschau.de, July 30, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Salvini, Matteo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian journalist and politician (Lega Nord), MEP
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan