British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy will jointly finance a project to help migrants return from Tunisia to their home countries. Sunak, who attended a political festival in Rome organized by Meloni’s party, praised his Italian counterpart’s tough migration policy.
The two government leaders, who vow to stop the arrival of migrant boats on their shores, held formal talks at Meloni’s office. Speaking to a meeting of her far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, the British Conservative leader praised their willingness to “break the consensus”.
Sunak and Meloni, who have had a good relationship since coming to power in 2022, have both come under heavy criticism over their migration policies, from Sunak’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to Meloni’s attempts to stop the work of rescue ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sunak praised Meloni’s “conviction and determination” and compared her to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. According to him, some of the Iron Lady’s ‘radicalism’ is needed to tackle mass migration. “If we don’t tackle this problem, the numbers will only increase. It will overwhelm our countries and our ability to help those who need our help most,” Sunak said.
More European politicians were present at the festival. Entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, who has previously supported Meloni in her asylum policy, was the main guest speaker. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and Musk urged the public to “make more Italians to save Italian culture,” a focus of the Meloni administration.
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