After long hours of deliberations, the Sicilian court found Salvini innocent of all charges, a verdict that was celebrated across Italy and Europe’s right-wing circles. Had Salvini been found guilty of essentially protecting the country’s borders with a clear democratic mandate behind its back, it would have created a devastating precedent across the EU and further emboldened leftist judiciaries to act against elected representatives.
“Acquitted for stopping mass immigration and defending my country,” the deputy PM posted on X after leaving the courtroom. “Lega wins, common sense wins, Italy wins,” he added.
“Salvini acted in the legitimate interest of our country and in full compliance with his institutional responsibilities,” Luca Zaia, the President of Veneto region said, being among the first domestic politicians to react to the news. “This sentence confirms that Minister Salvini acted with rigor and a sense of responsibility in a delicate situation, highlighting the groundlessness of the accusations against him,” he added.
Congratulations started pouring in from Salvini’s European allies as well, especially from members of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group where his party, Lega sits.
“Victory,” wrote National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella, the president of the Patriots group. “By preventing migrant boats chartered by activist NGOs from docking in Italy, Matteo Salvini did his duty: to defend his country’s identity, to protect its borders and its people.”
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán was even quicker to celebrate, tweeting his congratulations within minutes of the verdict being announced. “Justice has prevailed! Bravo, Matteo Salvini,” Orbán wrote. “Another victory for the Patriots!”
Of course, the most important message came from Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, who supported his coalition partner throughout the trial also because a ‘guilty’ verdict would have seriously endangered her popular anti-migration policies.
“Defending the Italian borders can never be a crime,” Meloni wrote. “Let’s continue together, with tenacity and determination, to fight illegal immigration and human trafficking, and defend national sovereignty.”
Throughout the trial, Salvini was confident he’d win and denied any wrongdoing, stating that he would do everything he did for his country again.