The Gregoretti case is in the final rush and the verdict seems obvious: Matteo Salvini should go on trial for alleged kidnapping of migrants stopped for 4 days on the military ship, before landing in Augusta on July 31 last. The Senate closes the game on the request for authorization to proceed for the former Interior Minister.
The courtroom will speak by voting on the agenda that Forza Italia and the Brothers of Italy will present to 'save' the ally from the judges. To pass, however, the absolute majority of the senators is needed, that is 161 against the trial. But in Palazzo Madama the center-right stops at 139. Hence the result that for many is taken for granted on the yes to the trial. After all, Salvini is ready. Indeed, it challenges the majority: "They will vote to send me to trial but I will not oppose it", he ruled as he crossed the canals of Venice live on Facebook. And in the afternoon in a painful meeting, he insists asking "his" to do the same in the House. But the League's senators will probably abstain or leave the hemicycle.
Once again the 'captain' asks his MPs not to take him away from the court. A conclusion that now conditions the round in plenary, in the sense that at that point, according to the Senate regulation, the assembly should limit itself to taking note of the decision of the Junta, favorable to the trial. Unless at least 20 senators, opposed to that verdict, specifically ask (and a joint FI and FdI document is ready) for a new vote. A move actually destined for the flop because the center-right wouldn't have enough numbers.
Suspicions run in parliamentary corridors on a possible support for Italia viva, in the name of guaranteeism. Matteo Renzi denies it : "Salvini asked to be tried, we will satisfy him", he announces to Tg5. But he specifies: "In my opinion he made a political mistake, even if I struggle to see a crime, but the judges will decide it. Then anyway Salvini will be politically beaten".
Except for surprises, the former vice premier is more concerned with moving forward, into the unknown of a trial. And take home a certified Senate vote anyway, which, according to some, could be useful in the defensive strategy before a possible judge on Gregoretti. Erika Stefani, the rapporteur of the League, will summarize what happened in the council, how and why the vote was reached. After the discussion, once the agenda has been presented, the ballot boxes will presumably open in the late morning. The vote is clear and can be expressed until the evening. Only then will the outcome be announced.
