Anti-immigrant Northern League
leader Matteo Salvini called Wednesday for a "revolt of the
respectable," urging Italians to renounce their nationality and
apply for political asylum "so that they can enjoy the same
rights as illegal immigrants".
Salvini made the controversial call in a broadcast on Radio
Padania, saying the League would stage nationwide "I ask for
asylum" rallies Saturday and Sunday in "more than 1000 Italian
piazzas".
Italians should download a form from the League website
enabling them to apply for asylum and renounce citizenship
"seeing how the Renzi government discriminates against us," he
claimed.
"You can't give 1000 euros a head to people who land here
and only give 280 to Italians who are real invalids," Salvini
said.
In a separate interview on La7 television, Salvini also
lashed out at Italy's Roma population saying "the Roma ought to
have the same rights and duties as other Italian citizens".
"Roma camps don't exist in almost any part of Europe," he
claimed, repeating his proposal "to raze the Roma camps to the
ground".
"If somebody decides to choose a nomadic life then they
shift themselves, but there are camps that have been there for
20, 30 years".
"In some camps I have seen two storey villas, just because
they are semi-mobile they don't pay IMU (property) tax. Do you
want to stay in Italy? Well then, dear Roma, you have the same
rights and duties as Italians".
Salvini said he also was irritated by premier Matteo Renzi
claiming that taxes have not increased.
"It would be enough for me if viewers were allowed to do a
live phone-in and say 'it is true I have paid fewer taxes,'" yet
instead in Lombardy "thanks to the cuts by Renzi we haven't been
able to abolish pharmacy prescription charges".
If he took office in government, Salvini said he would
immediately apply across the board a 15% single band of income
tax.
"We have to lower taxes to recover fiscal evasion, if you
increase fiscal pressure citizens either don't pay or they
escape to other countries with their investments".
An across the board single tax band "works in 40 countries,"
he claimed, adding that among the solutions to Italy's woes is
taxing prostitution.
On foreign policy Salvini said Italy should put its own
house in order to guard against the risk of Islamic terrorism
before getting involved in new overseas commitments.
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