December 15, 2024 | 05:01 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Italian government has granted Argentine President Javier Milei citizenship based on his Italian heritage, Italian news agency ANSA reported, sparking outrage across the country.
Milei's sister, Karina, also received citizenship, ANSA reported on Saturday, saying the application was processed quickly by Rome.
Riccardo Magi, a lawmaker from the opposition +Europa party, condemned the decision, calling it "intolerable discrimination" against young Italians who will face years of bureaucratic red tape to obtain citizenship.
"Millions of Italians who were born in Italy, raised here, who studied, worked and paid taxes in this country - unlike President Milei - will face an arduous journey to obtain citizenship," Magi said in a video posted on social media.
Current law requires foreigners to have lived in Italy for 10 years before applying for citizenship. Even children born in Italy to foreign parents must wait until they are 18 to apply.
Charities such as Oxfam Italia have pushed for a reduction in the waiting period to align with other European Union countries, such as France and Germany. But the government of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has strongly opposed the change.
Meloni met Milei during a state visit on Friday. The 54-year-old Argentine libertarian leader also joined Meloni at the Atreju Festival, a right-wing youth event in Rome organized by his Brothers of Italy party.
The two leaders have formed a strong bond over their ideological similarities.
Last month, Meloni gave Milei a statue of himself holding a chainsaw, a nod to his 2023 campaign. It has become a symbol of Milei wielding a chainsaw, signaling his intention to reduce the size of government.
Milei is not the first Argentine president to hold dual Italian citizenship. Mauricio Macri, who served as Argentina’s president from 2015 to 2019, also holds an Italian passport.
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