Italian pollster Alessandra Ghisleri has suggested that the government putting populist Senator Matteo Salvini on trial over a migrant incident last year could actually boost his public support and election results.
On Monday, the Italian parliament voted to go ahead with a trial over Salvini’s actions in the Gregoretti case, in which, as former interior minister, Salvini refused to allow migrants aboard an Italian coast guard vessel to disembark in Italy.
Alessandra Ghisleri, surveyor and director of Euromedia Research, said that the trial could be a boon for Salvini, stating that he could rally supporters around him saying: “The constant attack on a leader turns him into a victim.”
On Monday, Salvini said at a rally in Comacchio that he was ready to go to prison if need be, saying: “(Giovannino) Guareschi said that there are times when you have to pass through prison to reach freedom.”
“We are ready. I am ready,” he added.