El Koudri splits the government, sparking a clash between the League and Forza Italia. Salvini calls for a crackdown, Tajani: "But he's Italian."
The Azzurri are blaming the incident on mental health issues, while the League is calling it Islamic terrorism. But citizenship cannot be revoked, the law says, and Minister Piantedosi explains it.
(Handle)
Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
Salvini doesn't give up and returns to the attack on El Koudri , the Italian of Moroccan origin who last Saturday mowed down pedestrians in the center of Modena. While he previously called for the revocation of his residence permit, now, having established that he has been an Italian citizen since 2009, he is calling for the revocation of his citizenship .
"We are one of the countries that grants the most citizenships overall; we're on a par with Spain. A large portion of them deserve it, but a small portion of citizens don't deserve the trust and money that Italians have given them with residency permits and citizenships. In the presence of serious crimes—rapes, murders, armed robberies, terrorist acts—the revocation of this pact of trust seems absolutely necessary to me . If I grant a residency permit or citizenship to someone who rapes, kills, and deals drugs, do I have the right to question the act of trust, the pact I signed, or not?" he declared to RTL.
But current legislation does not allow for the revocation of citizenship: it can only be done by presidential decree, upon proposal from the Ministry of the Interior, within ten years of a final conviction of more than five years for terrorism or subversion offenses . And only for those who have become Italian through marriage, naturalization, or election . This is not the case for the 31-year-old born in the Bergamo area, who became Italian by right when his Moroccan father was naturalized.
The majority itself has put a stop to Salvini's possible changes to the law: for Giovanni Donzelli (FdI), "the current citizenship law is well-balanced." These differing approaches are also intertwined with the run-up to the upcoming local elections. Within FdI, they suspect the Northern League members don't want to hand over the banner of remigration to the Vannacciani.
Meanwhile , Forza Italia is framing Saturday's tragedy as the action of "an Italian with psychiatric problems." "I'm not here to stir controversy and divide," Antonio Tajani made clear during his visit to Modena, where he also emphasized that "mental health is an issue we too often tend to underestimate, but for which the government has implemented a structural strategy: 80 million in 2026, 85 in 2027, 90 in 2028, plus stable funding starting in 2029."
One principle, for the Deputy Prime Minister, is indisputable: " Anyone who is not an Italian citizen and commits crimes must be expelled, that's clear. But that's not the case here. Those who have committed heroic acts like stopping El Koudri deserve praise ." Could citizenship be the reward for the two foreigners? "They deserve recognition. Whether they qualify for Italian citizenship is another matter," he explained. "It's not up to me; it's up to the Ministry of the Interior to conduct the initial analysis and make the initial proposals."
And while the League is talking about an "Islamic terrorist attack," Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi himself denies it, citing current investigation findings: "At the moment, no evidence has emerged that would fit the classic profile of a terrorist planning violent actions." Regarding the possibility of expulsion, he clarifies: "We're talking about something else here, a case of psychiatric distress."
(Unioneonline)
