A sentence that caused an uproar. Pierfrancesco Majorino, candidate for the presidency of the Region of Lombardy by the center-left and M5S in the elections to be held at the weekend, apologized for a sensational gaffe on Calabria committed, as he himself reports, during a television broadcast. Hence a video, released by his staff, in which the former Democratic Party deputy makes mea culpa. «I would like to apologize for a rather unfortunate expression that I used this morning on a television program in which we were talking about the difficulties of the Lombardy region, in the context of a reflection on development and cultural policies. He said that ‘Lombardy is not like Calabria’, and it almost seemed that he was referring to me, because he said it wrong, to the people of Calabria, to their will to do things, to their talents. Guys and friends from Calabria, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend your creativity and strength. On the contrary – Majorino closes the apology message – I believe that Lombardy and Calabria must collaborate even more in development, culture and health policies for all, a huge topic. I made a mistake, so I apologize.”
Majorino’s phrases infuriated the president of the Region of Calabria, Roberto Occhiuto, who responded in kind on Facebook: “The Region of Lombardy is not Calabria, it is a region that has great potential, many people who are busy, there are many people from the region engaged in social and cultural projects. That – says Occhiuto when seeing the video of the candidate on the left – is really stupid. Here’s how similar characters look down on the South. This is a guy called Pierfrancesco Majorino, he’s a candidate for the Lombardy region, but above all he’s an idiot, because he doesn’t know that Calabria, like Lombardy, has so many opportunities, so many possibilities, and there are a lot of people who go to work and that deserves respect. They also deserve his respect, he doesn’t know this because obviously he’s just an idiot. So, Majorino, as my Lombard friends say, leave politics alone, go to lavurà».
Even Franco Lucente, adviser to the Fratelli d’Italia group in the Region of Lombardy, attacked the candidate of the Pd and M5S: «I heard the horrible words against Calabria and the Calabrians of Pierfrancesco Majorino, candidate for the presidency of the Region of Lombardy . I find it absurd to have to explain to him that Calabria is also a region with great opportunities and possibilities, that even the Calabrians, like the Lombards, are committed and work hard. Absurd, but apparently necessary, given his sentences full of nonsensical racist and anti-Southern bias. I wonder how anyone can think he is suited for the post of president of the Lombardy region. A person who disrespects without hesitation, who denigrates without even knowing the land and the people he is talking about, is not a person who has the right values to govern and guarantee an optimal future for the citizens”. An unfortunate phrase that made Majorino end up at the center of the cyclone of controversies.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
