Ilaria Salis won the first round of the immunity challenge, and now the final vote, scheduled for the Strasbourg plenary session in the first week of October, seems a little easier.

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee voted against the Hungarian authorities' request to waive her parliamentary immunity in a close vote of 13 to 12, which kept the Cagliari-born AVS MEP on tenterhooks until the last second . The result was almost unexpected: only MEPs from the Left, the Greens, the Socialists, and the Liberals—a total of 11 of the committee's 25 members—publicly supported the AVS MEP. Salis was apparently saved in the secret ballot by two "little hands," which parliamentary sources suggest came from the EPP group.

After the intense fear of the eve of the vote and the memories of the months spent in Hungarian prisons, Salis has received a breath of fresh air. The MEP from Monza smiled at the cameras after the vote and exulted: "We stopped Orban's vengeance," before renewing her "full confidence" in Parliament ahead of the final vote.

"We are very happy, we hope for an October vote," her father Roberto stressed to ANSA. While his daughter was in prison, he had come to Strasbourg to ask for Europe's intervention. Budapest's reaction was immediate and fierce: "The European Parliament legitimizes far-left terrorism," government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on X, adding ominously: "She's a criminal. We will not forget and we will not give up."

Prime Minister Viktor Orban directed his attacks at another vote, the one for the immunity of his political opponent Peter Magyar, which also took place this morning. The Hungarian prime minister called the vote "an infamy." In Italy, the League was the first to take to the offensive, starting with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who published a photo of the AVS MEP with the caption: "Shame, seat saved, dignity lost."

"A Euro-disgrace branded by the left and traitors of the center-right," urged Lega MEPs, pointing the finger at the EPP. "The People's Party, which has had snipers among its members, should seize the opportunity to make amends in the plenary session," urged Carlo Fidanza, head of the FdI delegation. The center-left's reaction was quite different.

"Ilaria's is a battle for the rule of law and democracy in Europe," exulted AVS leaders Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni. "By defending Salis, Parliament is defending all European citizens," observed the Democratic Party's head of delegation to the EP, Nicola Zingaretti. The controversy was sparked by the comment made by Azione leader Carlo Calenda: "The problem is Orbán, but it's also nominating someone who goes around smashing heads." "Disgraceful words," retorted Bonelli. This remark also infuriated Roberto Salis. "Calenda should apologize for the despicable defamation," attacked the MEP's father. The final word now goes to the plenary, but even if the plenary were to save Salis, it might not be the last chapter in this story.

For Adrian Vázquez Lázara, rapporteur of the text requesting the waiver of immunity, arguing the principle that immunity cannot cover actions taken before the mandate, "the Commission's decision sets a bad precedent." "I predict," he added, "that Hungary will appeal to the European Court of Justice." This is a scenario Salis and his team do not want to be caught unprepared for.

It's no coincidence that the MEP, through her lawyers, relaunched the government's proposal to move the trial to Italy, a proposal already floated on the eve of the vote: "Minister Nordio should request it; all that's needed is a political step. Salis can have a fair trial," wrote lawyers Eugenio Losco and Mauro Straini. This would be a way for Salis to finally free himself from his "persecutor," Orban.

(Unioneonline)

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