| |
Anti-immigration measures in face of attacks
Rome— Silvio Berlusconi’s new Italian government has
sought to deflect criticism over its hardline stance on immigrant
illegality ahead of new rules being announced on Wednesday. The
plans have brought a fiery attack from Spain, triggering a war of
words between Rome and Madrid, but also worried Italians fearful of
seeing household employees summarily deported.
New rules on immigration, whether clandestine or concerning legal
European Union immigrants who subsequently commit crimes on Italian
soil, will be outlined in Naples, where the Berlusconi cabinet’s
first meeting also has a blazing garbage crisis to address.
On Monday, Italian press reports indicated that Rome was
backtracking after last week’s crackdown which saw hundreds of
foreign nationals arrested, including gypsies from EU member
Romania. The intervention of Italy’s ex-communist president, Giorgio
Napolitano, in an ironic alliance with the Catholic Church, appears
to have taken the edge off Berlusconi’s initial plans, without
watering down their basic premise. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
retorted to critics in Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapateroto’s Socialist government in Madrid, pointing out that Spain
has itself been “very tough” on immigrants and suggesting its
policies have even served as a template for Rome’s new thinking.
However, he also urged Zapatero to rap the knuckles of figures
including Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega,
who suggested that Italy was seeking to ride roughshod over “the
rule of law and human rights.” Spain’s Equality Minister Bibiana
Aido also took aim at Berlusconi for including only four women in
his government in contrast with Zapatero’s, which has a female
majority.
Frattini said the remarks of Fernandez and Aido—who agreed with an
interviewer’s rhetorical statement that Berlusconi might benefit
from psychological evaluation—were “unnecessary.” Italy’s European
Affairs Minister Andrea Ronchi is to visit Madrid on Thursday to
explain Rome’s policies “and end tension” that has arisen over the
matter, the government said Monday.—AFP
|
