“Judges must go” – Musk intervenes in Italy’s migration policy

As reported, by decision of a court in Rome, Italy had to readmit migrants from a purpose-built camp in Albania, where a decision on their asylum application had to be made. Seven men from Bangladesh and Egypt were taken to the port city of Brindisi on a coast guard ship. The judiciary had previously decided that internment outside Italy was not legal. For the Italian Prime Minister, the setback is even more serious than an initial statement last month. At that time, 16 men from the camp in Albania were allowed to travel to Italy. The judges now also ignored a new decree with which the government had tried to save its project.

Warehouses in Albania are now empty
Apart from the staff, the two new camps in the non-EU country on the other side of the Adriatic Sea are now completely empty again. It is unclear whether the expensive facilities – estimated operating costs in 2029: more than 500 million euros – will remain open at all. All this is being closely monitored in other European capitals: other governments are also considering moving asylum procedures to countries outside the EU. Under the previous Conservative government, Britain had already failed with the idea of ​​moving to Rwanda. Now it could end the same way in Italy.

The dispute has developed into a heated dispute between the government and the judiciary. From the right-wing three-party coalition, the judiciary – once highly respected in Italy for its fight against the mafia and corruption – is insulted as a stooge of the left-wing opposition. Meloni now also receives support from tech entrepreneur Musk. On his Platform X, Musk wrote: “These judges have to go.” The billionaire and the head of government maintain close contacts. Musk was previously angry about a prosecutor who had imposed a prison sentence of several years on Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini in a trial over his treatment of migrants. “It’s this crazy prosecutor who has to go to prison for six years, that’s insane,” Musk raged.

Musk’s influence over the US government could grow enormously
The world’s richest person firmly supports the political positions of the American right and has supported Donald Trump’s election campaign in recent months. With his return to the White House, Musk will likely gain more influence over the US government. Trump promised to entrust the 53-year-old with cutting US government spending. This means that two companies led by Musk – electric car maker Tesla and space company SpaceX – could benefit from US government spending in the future.