Declaring that Italy can no longer serve as “Europe’s refugee camp,” newly installed interior minister Matteo Salvini pledged on Sunday to press EU officials for asylum law reform that allows stricter controls on illegal immigration.

During a visit to one of Europe’s most grim migrant reception centres in the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo, Mr Salvini said tragic shipwrecks off the coasts of Tunisia and Turkey that left dozens dead over the weekend could have been prevented.

“Every life is sacred – to save lives you have to stop the departures of these death boats, which is a lucrative business for some and a disgrace for the rest of the world," said Mr Salvini, who was sworn in as interior minister Friday as part of the new populist government formed by his far-Right League and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

The attempt to shape the migration issue around saving lives was a shift in rhetoric for the young firebrand who rose to power on an anti-immigration platform promising to boot out more than 500,000 people with a “kick in the a***.”

On Saturday he told a rally in the north: "The good times for illegals is over - get ready to pack your bags".