Minister Piantedosi, can there be a Ministry of the Interior without your presence?
“Certainly the Ministry of the Interior has existed since the Unification of Italy, perhaps even before, so definitely yes.”
But I must confess a personal offense, now well known: I arrived clandestinely from Albania…
“I am very pleased with this personal experience of yours because, in part of my career as a young official of the Prefecture of Bologna, I actually dealt at the time with the emergency migration from Albania. I am also pleased with your personal journey because it shows that immigration is not a negative phenomenon in itself, but must have aspects of sustainability.”
What is the government doing about the post-earthquake situation in the Campi Flegrei?
“We are expanding the benefits granted to the population in terms of access to self-accommodation contributions, that is, those vouchers given to those who find autonomous accommodation with relatives or in rented houses. We have exponentially strengthened the Fire Brigade teams who are collaborating with the municipalities to check the buildings. The government will do its best and has made an important initial allocation: 100 million euros.”
Minister, we all saw the assault on Ceuta. Does Europe risk similar assaults? Will there be other assaults on the enclave?
“Europe is realizing that the migration phenomenon is no longer something that can be addressed without considering the epochal dimension of this phenomenon. For too long it has been underestimated and reduced to a problem that could concern individual member states. There is still a difficult situation there because the Spanish government data speak of 2/3000 people still present, but journalistic sources go up to 5/6,000 in Ceuta. It could have happened to us sometimes too: we had recurring crises in Lampedusa in 2011-2012.”
The left applauded Sanchez, who sent 40,000 back home…
“Yes, they applauded him, in my opinion there is a contradiction in the whole construction that over the years the left has consolidated on the fact that everyone has the right to seek asylum in the countries of first entry.”
There was great chaos because Italy decided to suspend Schengen…
“It is a measure allowed by the European Union regulations, certainly of an exceptional and extraordinary nature, which can be entrusted to member states when there are conditions of potential danger to national security. And it is hard not to imagine that these conditions do not exist now, considering that we adopted this measure for one month, in view of what was seen. Allow me to emphasize the fact that the same Spanish intelligence and security agencies have declared that the appeal to repeat this invasion attempt on the next August 15 is quite founded. I hope this does not happen.”
In fact, this measure intensifies border controls anyway.
“It is done with targeted, selective methods, aimed at those who are not from EU countries. I believe that this disjointed reaction that was also made in the national debate is only linked to the fact that evidently a government like the Spanish one, led by socialists, is considered untouchable.”
Minister, in Italy however it is a fact, all the numbers we have at hand, that landings have decreased and probably more can be done, certainly, but what was the recipe to reduce these landings?
“We are deeply happy with the work we have done as a government for a simple reason: because the numbers are decreasing. This year we have just over 16,000 arrivals compared to 37,000 last year. Above all, I point out the downward curve we have been practicing in these four years of work. The first year we had a complicated situation with 157,000 arrivals, which became 67,000 the following year, 66,000 the year after, and today, in the eighth month of the year, we are at 16,000.”
Is there a connection between left-wing extremism and pro-Pal?
“Look: this is a characteristic trait of what we define as antagonism in Italy and Europe. A minority system of pressure groups that, in some way, seize every opportunity (sometimes it is large works, other times issues like the crisis in the Middle East) to practice only and exclusively a form of opposition against established institutions and against the State. These connections exist: they are minority but very complicated, they tend to practice violence in street demonstrations.”
The feeling is that no one ever pays when there are clashes in the square…
“Those who maintain public order do the hardest job. With democratic methods they have to face the guerrilla organized by the violent.
Some say that preventive detention is useless, but it has already been applied in 120 cases. Moreover, there is great work done also afterwards, with investigations carried out using technological tools.”
What has the government done for the law enforcement agencies?
“A hiring plan over four years that had not been done for decades. We have made more than 45,000 hires and have planned more than 20,000. We have used resources like never before. Other political forces applied the spending review by cutting funds to law enforcement: two operators retired and only one could be hired. Personnel was reduced and the average age increased. We are laying the foundations for a reconstruction of the workforce and leaving a positive balance between those who left and those who entered.”
Is remigration just propaganda or is it a sustainable project?
“When we took office, 4,300 people were repatriated. Today, in August, we are already at 5,200, so we will reach at least double the repatriations. And this despite some contrary judicial interpretations. The government the other day approved a provision that provides for the hiring of 500 police officers to be employed for repatriation projects. If remigration means making more repatriations, then that is what we are doing.”
