(Bloomberg) -- Beleaguered opposition leader Matteo Salvini lashed out at Italy’s government after more than one hundred migrants tested positive for the coronavirus at a center in the north of the country.

Tests on migrants living in temporary housing at a barracks in the city of Treviso showed that 129 have the virus, according to a local health official. None had symptoms and everyone in the barracks has been put under quarantine.

While Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has pointed to threats from surging virus cases in countries including Spain and France as he sets out the case for extending his emergency powers, Salvini has sought to return to political prominence by mocking the government’s policies as toothless.

The League party leader, whose anti-migrant agenda was sidelined in the wake of Italy’s virus outbreak, made headlines earlier this week when he refused to wear a mask during a virus conference in the Senate.

Salvini later used the Treviso outbreak to vilify the policies of Conte’s coalition during a speech at the Senate in Rome.

“They track Italians with masks while allowing hundreds who are potentially infected come off the boats and onto the beaches, damaging our tourism,” Salvini said.

The League chief was speaking ahead of a vote in parliament that’s expected to go against him, paving the way for a second trial over moves to stop migrants from landing in the country during his tenure as interior minister.

Senators will vote Thursday evening in a case prompted by Salvini blocking the Open Arms ship with 164 rescued migrants from docking in Sicily in August 2019. Prosecutors have charged the former interior minister with kidnapping in the case. Salvini says he was following government policy.

Italy, the original European epicenter of the pandemic, reported 386 new coronavirus cases Thursday, the most since June 5 and taking the total to 247,158.

Salvini’s popularity slumped after a nationwide lockdown robbed him of opportunities to hold his signature rallies across the country, and the League has slid 10% in opinion polls since last year’s European elections. Still, it is Italy’s most popular political force at 25%.

Anti-Migrant Credentials

The Open Arms case gives Salvini a chance to play up his anti-migrant credentials and portray himself as a victim of political persecution. But with proceedings likely to drag through the courts for years, it could also prevent him from seeking the premiership for the center-right.

Salvini already faces a separate trial in a similar case involving Coast Guard vessel Gregoretti in July 2019. That trial is due to begin in early October.

Salvini’s renewed attacks potentially pose a threat to political stability in Italy as Conte tries to drag the economy out of the worst recession in living memory. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement, the biggest partner in Conte’s coalition, has been competing with Salvini on migration issues, fueling tensions within the administration.

The prime minister has helped to negotiate a European Union stimulus package that will be worth more than 200 billion euros ($235 billion) to Italy in grants and loans. The country is bracing for more pain in coming months when aid measures expire, including a ban on firing staff, with Salvini ramping up attacks on the EU in recent months.

The developments in Treviso come amid a summer upturn in migration from north Africa, with 5,000 of this year’s 13,000 arrivals coming from Tunisia.

(Adds new virus data in ninth paragraph)

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