President of Argentina Javier Milei visits Rome. He received Italian citizenship

Friday night leader Argentina Javier Milei was received by the Prime Minister Italian Giorgia Meloni. According to the media, the head of government was personally involved in accelerating the procedure for granting him Italian citizenship.

Reuters recalled that during a previous trip to Italy in February, Milei admitted in an interview that he felt “75 percent Italian” because his grandparents were of Italian descent. He also said that he had an “incredible passion for Italian opera.”

Reuters journalists noted that Milei and Meloni “have developed a close relationship.” “When they met in Buenos Aires last month, the Argentine leader gave Meloni a figurine of himself with a chainsaw,” it described.

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The news reported in Italian media sparked an angry reaction from some politicians, as well as protests on social media. The reason is said to be difficulties in obtaining citizenship for children of migrants born in Italy.

Italian citizenship laws are based on blood ties, which means that even distant descendants of an Italian citizen can obtain an Italian passport. Milea's grandparents came from Calabria.

The requirements for foreigners born in the country or migrating there are much stricter. According to Reuters, pro-immigration groups have proposed a referendum to ease the restrictions, but the right-wing Meloni coalition is against any relaxation.

Riccardo Magi, secretary of the small opposition Europa Plus party, said granting Milea citizenship was an act of “unacceptable discrimination against so many young people who will only receive it many years later.”

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