Matteo Salvini’s decision to turn away a migrant rescue ship is an historic moment

The refusal by Italy’s new ‘populist’ coalition government of the alt-left Five Star Movement and the hard right Lega to allow an NGO vessel with 629 African migrants on board to dock in Italy is an historic moment.

The leader of the Lega Matteo Salvini, now Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, is determined to fulfil his campaign pledge. That is to say: I will stop any more migrants being ferried to Italy by sea from Libya and I will deport all of the 500,000 illegal migrants already arrived from Libya by sea who are not refugees – i.e the lot.

Since the first government in western Europe of what are popularly known as populists was installed in Italy 10 days ago, Salvini has talked about nothing else but the migrant crisis. The popularity of his party – the Lega (which got 17pc at the 4th March elections) – has as a result shot up in latest opinion polls to 27pc which is within touching distance of Five Star which got more votes than any other party at the elections – 32pc – but whose support has fallen to 30pc.

Salvini announced on Sunday that he had refused to allow the NGO vessel – the MV Aquarius operated by SOS Mediterranée and Médecins Sans Frontières and registered in Gibraltar – to dock in Italy. It is the first time that an Italian government has done such a thing since the start of the Mediterranean migrant crisis in 2013. Salvini said that the Aquarius should go as maritime law requires to the nearest safe port – i.e. Malta. But Malta – as Malta always does – refused.

Now Spain’s new Socialist government has agreed to allow Aquarius to dock in the port of Valencia.