"Dear Matteo," Conte wrote in an open letter to Salvini, published on social media. "I understand your ... obsessive concentration on addressing the issue of immigration by reducing the issue to a formula of 'closed ports'. You are a political leader and you are legitimately intent on constantly increasing your support."
Salvini struck back, defending his "closed ports" policy: "Without this firmness the European Union would have never lifted a finger, leaving Italy and the Italians alone," he wrote, also on social media.
The policies Salvini has put into place -- which also include threats of fines and the seizure of rescue ships, along with dramatic cuts to migrant integration programs -- have had a dramatic impact on the number of migrant arrivals in Italy.
According to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, some 248 migrants arrived in Italy between January and July of this year. That compares to 5,204 during the same period in 2018, which includes the period when Conte and Salvini came into power, and 38,747 who arrived during the equivalent period in 2017.
But critics of Salvini's policies note that those figures do not take into account the rising death toll of migrants who are not rescued or who are forced to languish at sea waiting for permission for their rescue ships to dock. Critics also wonder why Salvini continues to tighten rules against migrant arrivals when the flow of arrivals has already slowed to a small trickle.
【国际英语资讯:Clash between Italian PM and Salvini heats up】相关文章:
最新
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15