Jun 19, 2018 - Politics & Policy
Italy's interior minister wants to register and deport Roma
- Dave Lawler, author of Axios World
Salvini at a rally this week in Turin. Photo: Mauro Ujetto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party and interior minister in Italy's new populist coalition, has called for a registry of all Roma (known pejoratively as gypsies) living in Italy, and for those without citizenship to be expelled.
- Yes, but: Luigi Di Maio, leader of the Five Star movement and Matteo's coalition partner, has called that order "unconstitutional."
The bigger picture: Salvini has already contributed to a showdown in Europe over immigration by turning away hundreds of rescued migrants. Germany's Angela Merkel, meanwhile, is facing her own coalition split on immigration, and is facing a rapidly approaching deadline to secure a European deal on how to deal with migration.