Politicians from Italy’s ruling political parties expressed outrage after Carlota Rackete, the captain of a controversial migrant-rescue ship, became a candidate for next year’s European Union elections.
Rackete will stand in Germany for the left-wing Die Linke party and promised to challenge “climate breakdown and fascism on all levels”.
Rackete’s Mediterranean activities earned her enemies among Italian Government politicians.
One 2019 incident in which she had her vessel ram an Italian finance police patrol boat during a rescue mission gained her particular notoriety.
Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s right-wing Lega party, responded to her foray into EU politics with a mocking social media post wishing her “good luck”.
Dallo speronare motovedette italiane della Guardia di Finanza alla candidatura con la sinistra è un attimo.
Auguri, viva la democrazia! pic.twitter.com/vMsth3GVdc— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) July 17, 2023
“From ramming Italian patrol boats of the Guardia di Finanza to candidacy with the Left in just a short distance,” Salvini said, adding: “Best wishes, long live democracy!”
Others were less frivolous.
Rackete’s candidature offered “proof that extremist environmentalism and ‘immigrationism’ are two sides of the same coin”, said Marco Campomenosi, leader of Lega’s MEP delegation.
The captain’s candidacy was also criticised by Carlo Fidanza, EU delegation leader for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party.
“The candidacy of Carola Rackete, known for ramming a coast guard patrol boat in violation of the instructions of Italian national authorities, speaks volumes about the Left’s willingness to continue to propose as a model for Europe’s future that of open doors and uncontrolled immigration,” Fidanza told Brussels Signal.
He added that the coming EU elections in 2024 would serve as a “referendum” on progressive politics.
“Europeans will choose between this model and that of those who, like us, want to defend the EU’s external borders and fight human trafficking.”
Rackete said her career shift from skippering boats to standing in EU elections was in response to the rise of Europe’s political Right. She denounced Germany’s Alternative for Germany (Afd) in particular as “fascist”.
Despite being selected as a Die Linke candidate, she does not appear to have actually joined the party and was described as a “non-party member” during the group’s annual congress.
Die Linke formed “part of a Left pole of hope that is larger than the party itself,” the party said on Twitter. “When times get tough, the progressive forces pull together.”
Germany’s left-leaning Die Linke party has given Carlota Rackete, a migrant activist and NGO vessel captain operating in the Mediterranean, a spot on its European Parliament electoral list. https://t.co/FJkxDJafP3
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 18, 2023
