ROME - The deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio has his turn at sticking up for Salvini as the Diciotti investigation against the interior minister is carried out, revealed in an interview on Sky Tg 4.

 “There is no need for him to resign as he has not violated any ethical code. Although we don’t have an official ‘No way’ policy like Australia does, it is legitimate that Salvini can decide to close the ports” were the affirmations made by Di Maio in the Sky Tg 24 interview following the investigation into Salvini and the disembarking of the Diciotti.

 On Friday, an investigation was opened by the public prosecutor’s office in Agrigento into Matteo Salvini, on account of kidnapping, illegal arrest and abuse of power. It was the Interior Minister who ordered for the migrants aboard the rescue vessel to be detained for six days without letting them go. In the aftermath, Stefano Vella, the head of Italy's Medical Agency (AIFA), has resigned in protest over the government's hard-line policy and many ministers and government officials are calling for Salvini to resign.

 It was only on Sunday that the migrants were allowed to disembark in Catania, once the E.U. had found a solution which did not involve "burdening the Italian state". Albania (not an E.U. country) and Ireland will take 20 migrants each, and the rest have been welcomed by the Italian Catholic Church.

 Standing by the Interior Minister’s hard line, on his social media Di Maio reassured that during the whole Diciotti discussion the government had been “in firm agreement”: “I must thank Foreign Minister Moavero and Prime Minister Conte because we proved to be a great team, which will be useful for other emergencies. We were strong on the line we wanted to hold, even against other countries.”

 On the acceptance of the migrants by the Catholic Church, Di Maio said: “If the Church takes responsibility for migrants, that works out perfectly: Italian citizens will no longer be burdened with paying for refugee centres.”

 As for the investigation itself, Di Maio said that he has “full respect” for the judiciary and that he does not want to trigger “clashes between prosecutors and politicians.”; “We’ve always respected our institutions.” Whereas Salvini was not so understanding about the investigation: “It is shameful to launch an investigation against a politician who is just trying to defend the borders of his country. It's not going to stop us.”

 It is not just the public prosecutor’s office which is outraged at Salvini’s abuse of power; the E.U. itself have warned him to check his behaviour. E.U. migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said in a Repubblica interview: "I think that politicians in your country need to understand that you are not alone, that Europe is trying to help you. On the contrary, anyone who attacks the EU is shooting himself in the foot."

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