THE AQUARIUS AND LIFELINE CRUISES MEET THE ITALIAN POPULIST WAVE

The old usual route of the NGO-ship Aquarius, having packed its hold full of African
migrants nearby the Libyan coast, went from there to one of the many harbours of Southern Italy. During the past two years this former German coast guard vessel provided travel facility to over 10.000  illegal immigrants. A similar "humanitarian" task performed the Lifeline, belonging to a German NGO and operating under the Dutch flag.

NGO-vessels are part of a manifold fleet involved in the so called "rescue operations" in the central part of the Mediterranean sea. Other ships belong to the Italian coast guard, the Italian Navy, the Libyan coast guard. There are too cargo-ships involved, military vessels of other European countries, US Navy ships, private sailboats, yachts, fishing vessels... On the boundaries of Libyan territorial waters the maritime traffick has never been as high as during the past 5 years. If you want to know the underlaying reason of this phenomenon, "just follow the flow of the money", as the Chief Prosecutor of Catania, Carmelo Zuccaro puts it plain.
Dinghies made in China, stuffed with migrants by human traffickers are steered few miles away from the African coast, towards ships arriving on call in order to precisely anchor "there", nearby the horizon.

Sometimes overloaded dinghies capsize or break up in two parts. The US Navy vessel Trenton saved 40 migrants from drowning during the second week of June, but at least 12 persons died. Most passengers are seeing the sea for the first time in their life, and are unable to swim. The drowning death toll among migrants in the Mediterranean passed already 1000 this year. The annual lists of such victims are unbearably high. The more vessels are waiting at the horizon, the more Africans undertake the crossing and the more are dying. During the peak year of 2016 about 5000 migrants disappeared in the waves. Only Leftist bleeding hearts believe that more rescue-ships are needed in order to "save lives". Staunchly to their globalist vision the Left ignores the Australian immigration approach, which saved since 2014 countless Indonesian lives from drowning in both Timor and Arafura seas, and gives money to MSF in order to "save from starvation and war" athletic young men paying and waiting for a ride across the sea.

Carmelo Zuccaro, after important and consistent investigations, concluded that " NGO's are part and parcel of a profound wrong system, which offers the entrance door into Europe to human traffickers who are criminals without scruples ".
On the 10th of June Matteo Salvini, the Interior Minister of the brand-new Italian government, decided to close country's harbours to the Aquarius, the Lifeline and all NGO-vessels aiming to drop off there their African human cargos. Who actually embarks migrants from their leaky boats in front of the African coast is from now on gently invited by the Italian Government to carry them to the nearest safe harbour Tunis or La Valletta. Or to any other one. Or to wait for the arrival of the Libyan coast guard, who will embark the migrants and take them to Tripoli.

At present no European country will receive the Lifeline and its human cargo. Spain and France are accusing Italy of "egoism" and "anti-europeism", because eventually Italy dares to say stop to illegal immigration, after having endured this phenomenon for several years. Mr Giuseppe Conte, Italy's PM, is inviting Malta, France, Spain and other EU-countries  to share the African immigration burden. The reluctance met on this issue allows Italy to make clear to EU-fellows there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip in matter of EU immigration governance, and Dublin III agreement has to be renegotiated. Since Austria, Switzerland and France are closing their borders to immigrants, Italy refuses to become a gigantic "hotspot" reception center of African migrants nobody else in Europe wants.

The vetting procedures needed to decide which migrants are and aren't  refugees are taking an average time of 2.5 years in Italy. Out of 100 asylum applications, only 7 eventually receive the status of refugee. UNHCR, ICRC, Amnesty International are closely watching the asylum applications, an army of counsellors and lawyers are helping the newcomers through the paperwork, the deportation procedures are complicated, and meanwhile many immigrants are just "disappearing" in order to reappear in some other European countries. It is estimated Italy has about 500.000 illegal inhabitants.

The Lifeline is heading towards Malta, hoping to be welcomed there. Italy threatens to confiscate the vessel and arrest its crew as soon it enters country's territorial waters. The Dutch authorities have denied that the Lifeline is registered in the Netherlands, and are rightly refusising to dock it. What else is the Lifeline than a flag abusing pirate ship involved in dark businesses between Africa and Europe? The Aquarius brought its 629 migrants to Valencia during a cruise cheered up by music and dances, and returned to navigate nearby the Libyan coast waiting for the next load of dinghy people sended by the mafia of human traffickers.

The yellow-green Italian Government, born out of a program agreement between Five Star Movement (M5S) and Lega, is firmly committed to honour the will of the majority of Italians, as expressed in the national ballot boxes on the 4th of March.
The tough stand of PM Giuseppe Conte, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli and Home Secretary Matteo Salvini on illegal immigration was never seen under Monti-Letta-Renzi and Gentiloni Leftist governments during the past seven years. Renzi in particular blamed Italy to poorly perform in welcoming migrants, if compared to Germany. From his opposition bench he is now blaming the government because lack of funding to perform its programs. Programs ment to booster the Italian job market and reduce unemployment. When Renzi held power, he spent heaps of taxpayer's money for accomodation of unemployed migrants inside hotels, numb to the indigence of many Italians.

But immigration is not the sole issue of Italy's "populist" government.

The current staggering economy of Italy is seen as result of seven years policy of spending cuts and tax increases. Former governments blindly pursued recommendations of Troika (EU Commission, ECB, IMF), hoping to achieve economic growth and lowering of country's huge public debt. In 2011 last one comprised of 1.9 billion € (120% debt/GDP). In March 2018 public debt exceeded 2.3 billion € (132% debt/GDP). Austerity policy fully showed its failure. Furthermore Italy recently broke an other negative record: over 5 milion inhabitants survive under absolute poverty circumstances. That means no proper food, inadequate housing, scanty clothing, inaccessible communication and transport, unaffordable schooling and health care. Most of them live in the South, and 32% of them are foreigners.

It took almost three months to form current government. Eventually President Mattarella had to agree to it, having gauged that his favorite candidate Mr Cottarelli couldn't count on any parliamentary support, and all other attempts had also failed. The President accepted Mr Paolo Savona as Minister of European Affairs, having vetoed his nomination as Minister of Economy. This brilliant professor of economics held important positions in former governments during the 90ies. He is well known because of his eurosceptic views, and to have been in 1992 against the  Maastricht treaty. He considers how Brussels became a Berlin branch, as his words clarify:

"During Nazism Walther Funk promoted Germany as main economic country, proposing all other currencies should behave like the Reichsmark. The rest of the European countries, Italy included, were all supposed to drop industry and to engage in agriculture or tourism, for the benefit of the Germans. Today they invented a mechanism called EU, which brings the same effects without military force ".

The first article of the Italian Constitution states: "Italy is a Republic founded on work, and sovereignty belongs to the people".

The Italians saw their jobs fading away, due to declining economy, globalisation and political mismanagement. Sovereignty was conceded to Brussels, and the question raised if by "people" were intended Italians or foreigners. The Partito Democratico, heir of the Italian Communist Party, did all what they could to abandone the working class and middle class. Their pro EU representatives appeared more interested in human rights topics, gender equality, gay pride, liberalisation of drugs and immigration business. Italians instead were concerned about unemployment, safety, urban decay, tax burden and future of their children. All above is a shedding light to understand the political shift occurring in Italy. Local elections in June evidenced the ubiquitous advance of M5S and Lega, especially the last one. In opinion polls Lega reaches currently 30%. Strongholds in traditionally red Tuscany, like Massa and Siena were taken. Few years ago in Pisa the Lega represented 0.3%, today 25%.

The "Government of Change" intends to follow the electoral slogan of Matteo Salvini: "Prima gli italiani!" (Italians first!). Like Trump he wants to protect the country from market greed, globalisation excesses and Leftist derangement. Immigration needs better regolation, taxes must reduced, Italian culture, values and identity restored. The so called populist wave from America and Visegrad is rolling through Italy, which government isn't subdued anymore to Merkel, Juncker and Macron. The denied access of two ships loaded with migrants is shaking the underpinnings of the European Union.