Italian politician to Merz: He should keep his promise on immigration
Salvini, who is also the leader of the Right-wing League Party, made assessments on the prominent issues on the international agenda at the Foreign Press Association in Rome.
Recalling the promises made by the CDU and CSU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz on irregular immigration during his campaign, Salvini said, "I hope that Chancellor Merz will be able to achieve at least half of the promises he made during his election campaign to prevent illegal immigration. I hope this for him and for Italy."
Stating that border controls are very important, Salvini said, "If Germany helps us close the southern borders, there will be no transfer problem, otherwise there will be a real social conflict between Italy, Austria and France."
Salvini stated that he did not think the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was far-right as claimed, and said, "When we talk about adjectives, we read that we are talking about the far-right, a nightmare."
Salvini said that AfD being the second party in Germany has a meaning and used the following statements:
"In Austria, the FPÖ (Austrian Freedom Party) is excluded from government, while Reuters says the three parties working in a coalition are 'centre', including the socialists. Anyone who falls outside of political correctness is considered extremist and dangerous, and the fact that Reuters describes a left-wing party as 'centre' should tell us something. I refuse to think that there are millions of Nazis and fascists running around in Europe."
Salvini also said the European Patriots Group should establish a dialogue with the AfD, which emerged as the second political force in the German elections.
"It is Trump's success, not Europe's"Regarding the peace possibilities discussed for the Russia-Ukraine war, Salvini said, "If the possibility of a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine is on the agenda after 3 years of war and deaths, this is definitely not Europe's success, but (US President Donald) Trump's. Trump's driving force should be considered from a positive perspective, not seen as competition."
Matteo Salvini also expressed hope that concrete peace talks could begin.
Salvini also said the following about the tariffs and customs duties that the US administration has brought to the agenda for the European Union (EU): "Europe should not be afraid of Trump or tariffs, but of some enemies within itself. If some sectors are being completely destroyed, it is not because of China or Trump, it is because of ignorance, arrogance or bad intentions."
Referring to the discussions on whether or not Italian troops should be sent to Ukraine, Salvini continued as follows:
"We have around 8,000 soldiers on peacekeeping missions around the world, and the cost of this is more than 1 billion euros. Before spending an extra euro or thinking about sending an extra soldier, you need to have absolute assurance about what is being done and how it is being done, otherwise the example of Afghanistan will remain in our memory."
Emphasizing that he is against the idea of a European army and referring to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Salvini said:
"If we put Von der Leyen in charge of a common European army, she will hold out for twenty minutes and then surrender. That's why I am absolutely against such an idea. If Europe has become a structure that destroys its productive sectors, the most foolish thing to do is to create a common defence and a common European army. That would be a disaster. Because many things that Brussels tries to do fail. I would prefer strong national states to invest instead."
When asked, Salvini said he had never received any money from Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and that he had never asked for such a thing.
Habertürk
