The Spanish island of Mallorca has declared Italy’s far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, persona non grata as a result of his vitriolic stance against immigrants and the Roma community.
The motion, presented by the leftwing Podemos, the Balearic Islands branch of the Socialist party (PSIB) and the Més Per Mallorca coalition, was approved by authorities on the popular holiday island.
Politicians there criticised the “terrible and outrageous statements and policies” of Salvini, who has made high-profile moves to block the arrival of migrants at Italian ports and called for a census of Roma people since his populist coalition government came to power in early June.
Aurora Ribot, a spokeswoman for Podemos, told the local news website Diario di Mallorca that Salvini’s policies and rhetoric were “distilling a very serious and worrisome xenophobia and an obvious disregard for human life and dignity”.
The motion was approved as Salvini continues his attacks against sea-rescue charities, which he says fear “losing business” because of his policies. The vessel Aquarius was forced to divert to Spain with more than 600 migrants on board in June after Salvini forbade it to dock in Sicily.
Open Arms, a ship operated by the Spanish charity Proactiva has also brought migrants to Spain after Italy blocked its entry into port.
Ribot said the motion also sought to “recognise the immense humanitarian work of NGOs such as Proactiva Open Arms, Lifeline, Proemaid and SMH [Salvamento Maritimo Humanitario] in rescuing tens of thousands of people from certain death in the Mediterranean”.
Salvini, who in recent days has been pictured on a beach in Milano Marittima, in the Emilia Romagna region, responded on Facebook: “Not welcome in Mallorca? Who cares, I take my holidays in Italy.”
The island’s council mooted a similar motion against the US president, Donald Trump, because of his immigration policies at the border with Mexico, but the move failed to make it on to the plenary agenda.
