Italy’s government has granted citizenship to Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, on account of his Italian family roots, prompting outrage among opposition politicians who contrasted his treatment with that of the children born in Italy of migrant parents.
Milei is in Rome to meet the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and to take part in her Brothers of Italy party’s annual festival on Saturday.
A source with knowledge of the matter said the government had given Italian citizenship to the Argentine leader, declining to provide further details.
The news reported by Italian media triggered an angry reaction from some politicians and on social media from people protesting the citizenship being given to Milei when it is hard to obtain for children born in Italy to migrant parents.
Italy’s citizenship laws are based on blood ties, meaning that even distant descendants of an Italian national can obtain an Italian passport. Requirements for foreigners born in Italy or who migrate there, on the other hand, are much tougher. Pro-migrant groups have proposed a referendum to ease them, but Meloni’s rightwing coalition is against any relaxation.
READ (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/13/javier-milei-argentina-italian-citizenship) | XPOST (https://x.com/dotconnectinga/status/1867693206391128498?s=61&t=BdBkJAWYzheOiIIylkbO1g)