Chainsaw man and president of Argentina Javier Milei has gained the Italian citizenship. It was given to him by Italian PM Georgia Meloni during a state visit. Milei's grand parents emigrated from Italy to Argentina in the last century.
Riccardo Magi, an opposition parliamentarian who has campaigned for birthright citizenship, criticized the granting of citizenship to the Milei siblings on X, calling it a “slap in the face to girls and boys who were born here or reside permanently and have been waiting for citizenship for years and years, sometimes without any result.”
“Have you lived in Italy since you were born? Do you go to schools in the country? Do you speak Italian but are your parents of foreign origin? Citizenship, then, you can dream of,” he wrote.
“You have practically never set foot in Italy but your name is Javier Milei, you are a friend of Giorgia Meloni and you discover that you have a distant relative from Calabria called ‘don Ciccio’? Don’t worry, the government will give it to you.”
The foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond to CNN’s question about criticism of the decision to grant the Milei siblings citizenship.
Meloni, on a recent visit to Argentina, expressed solidarity with the conservative leader, with whom she has been working to strengthen ties.
Milei, who likes to brandish a chainsaw to symbolize budget cuts, gave her an action figure of himself holding the power tool.