Meloni Model – OrissaPOST

BBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, who leads the far-right anti-immigration Brothers of Italy party, met in Rome on September 16. The meeting sparked controversy as the two leaders discussed the highly sensitive and thorny subject of tackling illegal immigration. His statement before the meeting that he wanted to understand the methods used to dramatically reduce the number of migrants arriving in Italy drew criticism from members of his own left-wing Labour Party. Starmer also visited a national immigration coordination centre with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Since Labour won the election in July, Starmer has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration, while rejecting the previous Conservative government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Labour MP Kim Johnson told media it was disturbing to see Starmer “trying to learn lessons from a neo-fascist government” in Italy. It is notable that the visit came shortly after the UK was rocked by far-right riots that targeted mosques and migrant reception centres.

The arrival of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers in small boats from France remains a dangerous problem for Britain’s political parties. More than 22,000 people have made the perilous crossing of the English Channel so far this year, a slight increase on the same period in 2023. Several dozen people have died, including eight who died when a boat carrying about 60 people ran aground on rocks late last week. That same day, 14 boats carrying 801 people reached Britain.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the government’s decision to seek advice from Italy’s right-wing government, arguing that the government “has a moral duty to ensure that we tackle the criminal gangs that are putting lives at risk.”

Interestingly, Starmer has rejected the Rwanda plan, but has not ruled out arrangements for asylum claims to be processed abroad.

Italy reached an agreement with Albania in November to host two centers to house people while their asylum applications are processed. People whose asylum applications are rejected will be sent back to their countries of origin, while those whose applications are accepted will be allowed into Italy.

Meloni’s government has also struck a deal with Tunisia, in which it will receive aid in exchange for greater efforts to stop refugees heading to Italy and leaving the North African country to cross the Mediterranean. Rome has also renewed a 2017 deal with the Libyan government in Tripoli, in which it will provide training and funding to the coast guard to stop the departure of refugees and return those already at sea to Libya.

However, human rights groups have expressed grave concern that this policy is pushing thousands of refugees back to Libya, where they are at risk of torture and ill-treatment in arbitrary detention.

What has irked some of Starmer’s own party colleagues is his comment that he believes prevention and stopping people from travelling in the first place is one of the best ways to deal with this particular problem. Since the start of the year, the number of refugees arriving in Italy by sea has fallen significantly, according to the Home Office. A total of 44,675 people arrived from 1 January to 13 September, compared with 125,806 in the same period in 2023.

Starmer tried to outline his plan to learn from Italy on the immigration issue for a pragmatic British approach. Whether Labour or Conservative, the British government must understandably be committed to strengthening the country and being a safe and secure place for its own citizens to live. The ideas of a humane immigration policy need to be thoroughly rethought and thought through. This is something that has been sorely lacking in the British Isles in the past. While Meloni’s brand of politics that fights immigration tooth and nail and discourages neighbouring countries from pushing Muslim immigrants is perfectly understandable.

Meloni’s radical right seems least bothered by criticism of her anti-immigration policies. This is evident from her defense of Matteo Salvini, who is on trial for refusing to let an NGO boat carrying 147 migrants dock in Lampedusa in 2019. He is now a senior member of Meloni’s government. Just before Starmer’s trip, prosecutors had demanded a six-year prison sentence for Salvini in the case. Since taking office two years ago, Meloni has pursued the same agenda as Salvini, but with greater efficiency.

Labour is right to stress the need for cross-border cooperation in tackling trafficking gangs. Western European governments are also expected to respond with compassion to the various crises in the Middle East, many of which have arisen from the attitudes of the same people who are now fleeing their own homes. The other aspect is that immigrants, once settled in their adopted countries, do not change their own ways. They often resort to disorderly behaviour and violence to stamp their Islamist stamp on everything. This will surely pave the way for the disintegration and destruction of everything that Europe has stood for, ever since the Crusaders fought Islam for 400 years.

Anyone who thinks that Meloni is not a role model for contemporary Europe may be misjudging the future.