Forza Italia, Tajani against Salis: "Make-up and good looks are not enough". Pd attack: "It's sexism"
After Maurizio Gasparri 's slip, the words of Antonio Tajani . A month after the controversy sparked by the sexist outburst of the blue group leader in the Senate, who in an election campaign event had called the progressive mayoral candidate in Genoa Silvia Salis "pretty but unfit to govern", Forza Italia is once again in the crosshairs of accusations from the center-left.
It is happening again in the context of the political dispute in Genoa, where the phrases of the deputy prime minister and party leader Tajani have become a new cause for conflict, as he reiterated in some way the accusation made against the opposing candidate (perhaps only less elegantly) by Gasparri in April.
“The left will not be satisfied with redoing their makeup with a good-looking person,” was the hiss of the minister, in town for the launch of the sprint of the center-right candidate for the Municipality, Pietro Piciocchi. And again: “This city does not need people for the catwalk, but a mayor capable of continuing the work undertaken in recent years by the center-right.” Phrases that have attracted harsh criticism from various progressive exponents.
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“Reducing a woman to her image, to her physical appearance, is not just sexism, it is an old, offensive and tired strategy to delegitimize the skills and political commitment of women: the words with which Minister Tajani, which come after those of Gasparri, after those of numerous exponents of the right, are unspeakable and unacceptable”, the Democratic Party deputy Valentina Ghio , deputy group leader of the Democratic Party in the Chamber, was the first to take a stand. “And unfortunately no, it is not an isolated case, but a deeply rooted cultural reflex, which resurfaces every time a woman gets involved in politics and which the right that governs this city and the government has not failed to underline, demonstrating all its weakness and superficiality”.
"And this is supposed to be a moderate, this is supposed to be a minister? – Democratic MPs Francesco Boccia and Filippo Sensi share the same question on social media – Genoa doesn't deserve this stuff: run Silvia Salis, run, solidarity".
“Enough now, we are fed up, we demand respect and let's stop this vulgar right: we women of Genoa are certainly not afraid of political confrontation or clash, but it must be a real confrontation, on content, on visions, not a continuous attack on our identity as women, like this sexist attack, not the first, nor the most vulgar”, intervenes from Avs the city councilor Francesca Ghio , who last November denounced in the council chamber a violence suffered , and then responded with a polemic accompanied by the solidarity of the prime minister Giorgia Meloni .
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“It is very bitter that, after Gasparri’s vulgar outbursts, Tajani also cannot find any argument to confront our candidate for mayor that does not descend into squalor – we read in the note from the regional councilor of the Democratic Party Katia Piccardo – From a Minister of the Republic, evidently mistakenly, we would have expected a very different level. Once again sexism and objectification of women by the right that fails to try to take into consideration ability, tenacity and a straight back or tries to hide them behind worn-out and senseless stereotypes”.
“Once again, leading figures of the Italian right choose to attack a candidate by reducing her to her physical appearance. They talk about makeup and good looks. I, on the other hand, want a policy that recognizes the strength of people in their paths, in their skills, in their ability to imagine a fairer future,” reflects Silvia Cavanna , the candidate with Possibile for the City Council of Genoa who in recent weeks was the victim of a shitstorm on social media for her positions on April 25.
“The words of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani are neither offensive nor superficial, but represent a serious and concrete political reflection: to lead a city like Genoa, image is not enough, you need vision, competence and administrative capacity, and the attempt by the Democratic Party to distort the meaning of his statements demonstrates once again their propensity to distort the debate”, is instead the response of Forza Italia, entrusted to Roberto Bagnasco , group leader of the party for the Defence Commission.
"Tajani simply wanted to underline a sacrosanct concept: the future of a great city like Genoa is not built with communication or appearance, but with the concreteness of programs, with experience, with the reliability of people. Forza Italia, - continues Bagnasco - in Genoa as in the rest of Italy, is working to offer citizens serious, credible and sustainable proposals. The rest is just smoke and mirrors. Those who are indignant today would do well to look at the real problems of the city, instead of attacking a minister".
“The exploitation is an unmistakable sign of the paucity of content available to our decadent opposition,” adds Rita dalla Chiesa , another Forza Italia MP. “I am also speaking as a woman and as such I did not feel touched in the slightest by what Tajani said yesterday. I am well aware of the respect he has for all women and only a dishonest opposition could pretend not to understand.”
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