Italy fears violent newcomers

By Stephen Brown

ROME (Reuters) - Who invented the mafia? Italy's left-leaning government asked on Wednesday, reminding the opposition that not only foreigners commit crimes and seeking to quell growing pressure to get tough on immigration.

With a bus hijacked by three Albanians on Tuesday, a woman killed on the Rome metro by a Romanian woman using an umbrella, and headlines like "foreigners kidnap and rape housewife", the focus has become very much the criminals' nationality.

But the government, smelling a backlash against foreigners, reminded Italy that it invented the Mafia, and its Neapolitan and Calabrian versions, the Camorra and 'Ndrangheta."

"Of course there are criminals among the immigrants. But there are also Mafiosi among Italian citizens," said Social Solidarity Minister Paolo Ferrero.

But the conservative opposition said on Wednesday it was time to get tough on immigration.

"Enough lefty tolerance. Since (Prime Minister Romano) Prodi and company came to power, Italians have been terrorised by violent episodes almost always carried out by dangerous illegal immigrants," said Forza Italia deputy Isabella Bertolini.

The previous conservative government under Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi enforced quotas on immigration and interned and repatriated illegals. His successor wants instead to make it easier for foreigners to become legal and integrate.

The government points to immigrant labourers as a driving force in the economy, offsetting Italy's ageing population by boosting employment and setting up small businesses.