Root Causes of Migration Have to Be Addressed in Africa

Although there are variations, the priorities of conservatives are very similar around the world, Guglielmo Picchi, Italy's former deputy foreign minister and Lega Party MP, pointed out in an interview for Magyar Nemzet. According to the Italian politician, migration can be stopped by eliminating the root causes, but this requires close cooperation with African countries.

Guglielmo Picchi at CPAC Hungary (Photo: Arpad Kurucz)

We welcome you back again at CPAC Hungary. Why did you feel it was important to attend the conference again this year?

Every year the organization gets better and better, and I am very happy to be back. The number of friends I can meet with here grows every year. The feedback is also very positive, Miklos [Szantho at the Center for Fundamental Rights] and his team have done a fantastic job.

What is the significance of such events for conservatives?

They are crucially important. Last week in Brussels, we saw a woke Muslim mayor attempt to block freedom of speech, which is essential for democracy and conservatives. The fact that we can be here at CPAC and freely express our views on the woke culture and the global Left is extremely important to us. Friendships are forged here, initiatives are born that we can work on together in South Africa, Hungary, Italy, Washington or anywhere else in the world.

The so-called collective West, the free world, has long been under attack from the globalists. For us conservatives, eighty to ninety percent of our priorities are the same all over the world with some variations, of course, because geography matters. Australia does not have the same problems as Hungary. But being together here allows us to advance our priorities. It will be a long fight, for it has taken the Left fifty years since 1968 to overrun all the institutions. It is impossible to reverse this in a year or two.

It is important that we represent our values without fear and that conservatives appoint their own people to international organizations. If we don't do that, then naturally we get woke institutions. The UN for example is full of woke bureaucrats.

Stopping illegal migration is a key conservative priority, and you have addressed this issue in detail as deputy foreign minister. How do you see the current migration situation?

It is simple: if we do not fight the root causes of migration, the battle is lost. There will always be yet another boat full of migrants taking advantage of international law. Italy proposes that we turn to Africa, not as colonizers, but as friends and partners, and try to work with Africans to develop their economies. If we create good living conditions in Africa, migrants will not come here.

Illegal immigrants from Africa disembark a patrol boat of the Spanish Maritime Rescue Service in the port of Motril in Granada, Spain on April 16, 2024 (Photo: MTI/EPA/EFE/Alba Feixas)

No one feels good about leaving their country. If we can tackle the problems in sub-Saharan countries, with development programs, education, and agricultural cooperation, we can solve the problem of migration at a fraction of the cost and spend our time and energy on eradicating the problems of our own people.

You live in Britain. What do you think of the British government's agreement with Rwanda to tackle the migration problem?

Ambitious, but not easy to implement. I am optimistic, let's see if it is feasible. Italy has a similar agreement with Albania, although it is a little more difficult because of the constraints of the European Union. But this concept has already been used by Australia when it deported migrants to the island of Nauru. Another aspect of the issue is that while mainly women and children are arriving from Ukraine, that's not the case for arrivals from Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Tens of thousands are coming from Bangladesh, which is in fact a safe country. It is a democracy, there are elections, there is a constitution, a functioning parliament, yet we do not send back people from there.
 

All things considered, the root causes of migration need to be addressed foremost in Africa. Tougher regulations are also needed at the European level, and for this the Hungarian government's stand is crucial. But I am optimistic that we can eventually tackle the problem.

Cover photo: Guglielmo Picchi at CPAC Hungary (Photo: Arpad Kurucz)