They are sitting composed and silent on the benches intended for the public. And they remain as silent as they are composed even during the breaks, when they enter the bunker room of the Pagliarelli prison to approach the bench where the only defendant, Matteo Salvini, sits. It is a group of loyalists arriving from all over Italy that is repeatedly created around the deputy prime minister in the last act of the Open Arms process: an affair which in August 2019 saw Salvini, then Minister of the Interior, and 147 migrants detained on board the ship of the Spanish non-governmental organization Open Arms. The accusation is kidnapping and refusal of ex officio.
But the moods remain all guarded by that wall, protected by the police, and impossible to penetrate. Just as it is tiring to pick up any scraps of conversation: Salvini speaks to his men in a low voice, almost whispering, not allowing anything to be picked up. A tone of voice that the deputy prime minister has not accustomed us to.
Open Arms, the Palermo prosecutor's office asks for 6 years in prison for Salvini
Mr Papeete: “Salviniano convinced, but not a Northern League supporter”
Among Salvini's men today in Palermo it is impossible not to notice him too: Massimo Casanova, former MEP of the League, but above all owner of Papeete, the bathing establishment in Milano Marittima so loved by Salvini. “I'm here because I'm a friend of Matteo, but also a convinced Salvini supporter, even if I'm not a member of the Northern League” says Casanova to PalermoTodaynot giving up a dig. The bond between the entrepreneur and the current deputy prime minister, as well as minister of Infrastructure and Transport, is not damaged as his words confirm: “Salvini is the only one who deserves it among so much rabble”, assures Casanova.
Open Arms, Salvini at Pagliarelli for the sentence
“A good man and politician”, adds Annalisa Tardino, deputy of the League in the European Parliament and commissioner of the League of Sicily for Salvini as prime minister. “Our friendship has been going on for over ten years – continues Casanova – but it has little to do with Papeete”. Although it is impossible not to remember the shots, which went around the world, in which the then Minister of the Interior was having fun behind the console of the club, holding a mojito. While some cubists danced to the notes of Mameli's anthem. In case of acquittal, the entrepreneur assures that there will not be any big party: “We will celebrate at home with our families”. Needled to make a prediction on the outcome of the trial, he replies with a joke: “One, X, two. Is this okay?”.
From Valditara to Morelli: all Salvini's men
The Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, with whom Salvini speaks privately several times, keeps a lower profile: “I am a friend of Matteo, I think it is right to give him my solidarity and my closeness at this moment”, was the only comment allowed to reporters. But in the chamber there are also the deputy and commissioner of the League in Sicily, Nino Germanà, the undersecretaries Claudio Durigon and Alessandro Morelli. Between them, jokes under their breath. But Morelli insists several times on the rainbow that appeared behind the penitentiary institution: “A sign of good omen” he repeats.
Open Arms, Salvini: “I will be in the courtroom with my head held high for the sentence
“There is a rainbow, a good sign”, says Salvini, who arrived in the bunker classroom on time. First a short statement to the press in which he reiterated that he “is absolutely proud of what he has done” and that is to have “kept his promises and fought mass immigration. Whatever the sentence, today is a good day for me because I am proud of having defended my country. I would do it all again.” Then he immediately asked his parents to save a place for his girlfriend, Francesca Verdini with whom – while awaiting the sentence expected no earlier than 6pm – he went to lunch in a restaurant in via Principe di Belmonte and did Christmas shopping in the center of Palermo .
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