Democratic Party (PD) leader
Matteo Renzi said Wednesday that government ministers had done
well to avoid public spats, amid reports of tension within the
executive over the Italian-drafted code of conduct for NGOs
involved in migrant rescues at sea.
"No controversy can overshadow the results of the last few
weeks, starting with the significant reduction in the number of
arrivals (down 3.5% on 2016)," ex-premier Renzi said via
Facebook.
"And our ministers, who are good and capable, are doing a
good job.
"I realize that it's August but we won't resort to rowing of
those who want to turn everything into an external election
campaign.
President Sergio Mattarella on Monday took the unusual step
of issuing a statement backing a member of the government,
Interior Minister Marco Minniti, after he skipped a cabinet
meeting, fuelling speculation that he was think of quitting over
differences about application of the code.
The premier's office also came out of support of Minniti.
Among other things, NGOs who sign the code pledge not to
enter Libyan territorial waters to conduct rescues. NGOs that do
not sign up to it are not guaranteed use of Italian ports.
It is part of a strategy aiming to stopping the massive wave
of migrants coming to Italy from North Africa.
But other members of the government reportedly have doubts
about the code.
The tension escalated after a ship run by Doctors Without
Frontier (MSF), one of the NGOs that did not sign the code,
transferred a group a rescued migrants to the Italian Coast
Guard at sea at the weekend, without having to enter a port.
The coast guard answers to the ministry under Transport
Minister Graziano Delrio.
Many Italian newspapers have reported that Renzi, who is set
to try to win back his old job as premier in elections next
year, had sided with Delrio.
Minniti said Tuesday that there was no tension with the
transport minister.
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