Italian Interior Minister Faces Kidnap Charges for Refusing Migrant Ship

By Nicholas Sakelaris

The Five Star Movement will vote Monday whether its leader and interior minister Matteo Salvini should stand trial on kidnapping charges. 

(UPI) -- Italian interior minister and senator Matteo Salvini could lose his legal immunity if his own party decides Monday he should face trial on kidnapping charges.

The kidnapping accusations stem from an order Salvini gave in August to hold 150 migrants aboard an Italian coast guard ship for five days. His party, the League, is part of the populist Five Star Movement, an anti-establishment group that seeks to root out corruption in Italy.

The Five Star Movement was set for an online vote among members Monday to see if Salvini should stand trial. Italy's full Senate would have to vote to lift his immunity, as his position exempts him from prosecution.

The Five Star Movement has asked its members to support Salvini, saying his actions were signed off by the government collectively.

"It is an unprecedented case because never in the past has the judiciary asked parliament to authorize a trial for a minister who had acted in the performance of his duties," the group posted on its website.

Salvini has defended himself against the potential charges and has even seen his popularity rise despite the controversy.

"They can do whatever they want," Salvini said, referring to his party. "What I did, I did to defend the safety of citizens, and if necessary I'd do it again."

The online poll asks if Salvini was justified in the decision last summer. A "no" vote favors prosecuting Salvini while a "yes" vote rejects a trial.

The ship was docked at the Catania port for five days while Salvini sought help from other European Union countries who could take in the mostly Eritrean passengers. Eventually, the Catholic church, Ireland and Albania agreed to receive the migrants.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Five Star transport minister Danilo Toninelli were also put under investigation this week for rejecting the migrants.

Obviously this is politically motivated and there should be consequences for abuse of the judicial system. Refusing to allow illegal migrants to vacate a ship in port is something that happens all the time. It happened to thousands of Jews in WWII all over the world.

Populist Parties Surge in Italian Election - Not Good News for EU

EU - listing a bit more to starboard

By Hilary Clarke and Euan McKirdy, CNN

(CNN) Populist parties have gained ground at the expense of establishment voices in Italy's parliamentary elections, which produced no clear winner as votes were being counted in the early hours of Monday.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement is projected to have gained the most votes by a single party, while a center-right coalition looks set to hold the most seats in the country's senate.

According to state broadcaster RaiNews24, Five Star Movement led by 31-year-old Luigi di Maio is projected to gain over 32% of the vote, still short of the 40% needed to form a government.

Based on early vote count, the result looks like a win for the center-right coalition brokered by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, which collectively is projected to hold the biggest share of the vote -- 35.5%.

The result, which is comprised of Berlusconi's Forza Italia, Matteo Salvini's far-right League and the neo-fascist Brothers of Italy, means it will have the most seats in parliament, but 4% short of the 40% needed to avoid a hung parliament.

Berlusconi's Forza Italia is projected to receive 14%; the xenophobic and populist League, formerly known as the Northern League, also is expected to win 16%.

Berlusconi, a multi-billionaire, is currently not eligible to be Prime Minister because he has been convicted of tax fraud.

Poor showing for ruling party

The result is a blow for another former leader, Matteo Renzi, whose center-left group, comprised of his Democratic Party and the liberal More Europe party could only muster 23% between them.

The poor showing comes despite the ruling party projected to get the second-largest share of votes, 19%, for an individual party. Renzi, a center-left reformer, stepped aside in 2016 after the failure of a controversial constitutional referendum,

Italian political leaders seemed to be waiting for more results before weighing in on social media, with only the League leader Matteo Salvini tweeting "My first word: THANK YOU."

Bad news for EU unity

The poll is being closely scrutinized by European leaders who are concerned by the increasingly euro-skeptical sentiment and fearful of any instability in the Eurozone's third-largest economy.

If projections are accurate, the result means that Italy could be plunged into months of further political deadlock that could have broader implications for Europe -- both the League and the Five Star Movement are anti-EU parties.

One of the main issues in the election has been the surge in undocumented immigrants entering Italy, one of the main entry points into Europe from migrants from Africa and Asia.

The narrative around immigration took a darker turn after a man linked with neo-fascist political parties apparently went on a shooting rampage targeting African migrants in the town of Macerata. The incident fueled serious political debate about how the country is reconciling its fascist past.

Sweeping change

The populist parties' gains in the polls were not lost on US President Donald Trump's former strategic adviser Steve Bannon, who was in Rome to observe the elections.

Bannon said in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper that an alliance between the anti-immigrant League party and the populist Five Star Movement was "the ultimate dream."

"This election is crucial for the global populist movement" he said, saying it was an issue of "sovereignty" for Italians opposed to immigration.

Another far-right politician, France's Marine Le Pen, tweeted that the projected results signaled an anti-EU sentiment in the southern European country.

"The European Union is going to have a horrible evening," she said in the post.

Final results are expected at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET). The real work will begin once all the final votes are through and negotiations begin for a coalition.

Italy's Anti-Corruption Five Star Movement Facing Allegations of... Corruption

Corruption is Everywhere - even in ***** Italy

Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio speaks during a political rally in Naples, Italy, on February 12, 2018.

© Ciro De Luca / Reuters

After fighting against corruption, Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement has a lot to answer for. Around 10 of its MPs have apparently been busted for running a scam to dodge €1 million in financial obligations.

MPs for the party have an obligation to pay half of their salaries into a fund which helps small- and medium-sized businesses. The donations were founded on Five Star's belief that Italian politicians are overpaid.

But actions speak louder than words, and it appears the actions of some 10 lawmakers didn't exactly match up with their commitments. That's according to an investigation by the television program Le Iene (The Hyenas), which airs on a TV station owned by right-wing political rival and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The report said that instead of doing their part, the MPs simply drew up bank orders for the money to leave their accounts. This provided them with receipts to show party bosses, and the transfers also showed up on a website created for transparency. But once all that was done, they merely canceled the transfers and kept the money for themselves.

“We gave back €23 million [US$28 million], while the others pocketed every cent,” party leader Luigi Di Maio said, as quoted by Reuters. He added that he had personally contributed some €370,000 of pay or benefits, and vowed to "root out bad apples."

One MP has already suspended his Five Star membership following the revelation. Two others admitted to not paying enough, but later made up their contribution, according to party MP Barbara Lezzi, who said she was "shocked" and "devastated" to find that fellow party members hadn't given their fair share when she has "paid everything."

Meanwhile, Matteo Renzi, the leader of the ruling center-left Democratic Party and a former prime minister of Italy, accused Di Maio of leading a movement of "scroungers and fraudsters," while urging Italians not to vote for the party in next month's elections.

The Five Star Movement, which has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity, has campaigned on eradicating corruption from Italian politics. It is predicted to win 27 to 28 percent of the vote in the upcoming election on March 4, compared to 22 to 23 percent for the ruling Democratic Party.