Salvini Keeps Immigration Front and Center Before Crucial Vote
- Rescue vessel Open Arms attempting to dock in Italian port
- Prime Minister Conte accuses his deputy of ‘disloyalty’
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
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Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini dialed up the pressure in an immigration fight with his coalition partners as he looks to keep his signature issue center stage ahead of a showdown in the Italian Senate next week.
Salvini’s order to keep Spanish rescue ship Open Arms from docking has put him at odds with the courts and with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his allies in the splintering coalition government. The vessel remained at sea Friday with more than 130 migrants aboard after 13 were allowed to disembark to receive medical attention, according to local media reports.