European Parliament President Antonio Tajani on Thursday apologized to people offended by his recent comments declaring that Benito Mussolini did “positive things” for Italy.
“As a convinced anti-fascist, I apologise to all those who may have been offended by what I said, which in no way intends to justify or play down an anti-democratic and totalitarian regime,” Tajani said in a statement.
“I am deeply saddened that, despite my personal and political history, some may feel that I would choose to be lenient with regards to fascism.”
Tajani, a member of the center-right European People’s Party, did not say his remarks had been wrong. His statement came after his comments, on radio show “La Zanzara” (the Mosquito), caused outrage in the Parliament and calls for him to resign.
“Mussolini?” Tajani asked on the show, “until he declared war against the whole world following Hitler, until he promoted racial laws [against Jews], apart from the dramatic event of [Giacomo] Matteotti [an opponent killed by the regime], he did positive things to realize infrastructures in our country.”
Despite his apology, the comments drew ire even in Tajani’s own European People’s Party, while left-wing MEPs urged him to resign.
“This is the second irritation he causes in a short period of time,” said an EPP MEP. “Behind close doors, colleagues are shaking their heads and wondering how someone can be so insensitive.”
The MEP was referring to comments by Tajani last month, when he declared at a commemoration of a World War II massacre that took place on the border between Italy and Slovenia: “Long live Trieste, long live Italian Istria, long live Italian Dalmatia, long live Italian exiles.”
Those remarks sparked outrage in Slovenia and Croatia as Istria includes parts of present-day Italy, Slovenia and Croatia — and Dalmatia is part of Croatia. Both areas were occupied by Italian fascists during World War II.
“We like him but he’s just obsessed with Italian politics and it’s not his job,” the MEP said, adding that some of his colleagues were joking about “the next blunder he will make.”
“Maybe he’ll announce that Nice is returning to Italy?” the MEP remarked, referring to the French city that was once Italian.
Tajani, a veteran MEP and longtime consigliere to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was elected the 29th president of the European Parliament in 2017. He promised that as president, he would be more neutral than his predecessor, Martin Schulz, and stick to his role as speaker of the house.
Christine Revault d’Allonnes-Bonnefoy, the chair of the French delegation of the Progressive Alliance of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the Parliament, said Tajani’s comments on Mussolini “tarnish not only the right-wing family, but also our institution.”
“He must apologize and withdraw them or resign,” she tweeted.
Udo Bullmann, the S&D group leader in the Parliament, said: “Mr. Tajani permanently tries to explain that he is not a fascist. Nobody accused him of that. Yet, the real question is why he repeatedly reaches out to the far right and, by doing so, compromises his institutional role as the President of the European Parliament as well as the whole EPP group.”
The Greens have also called on Tajani to retract his remarks or quit.
“Already before the war Mussolini had abolished freedom of press and the right to strike. He put in place a dictatorship and dissolved the parliament,” said Ska Keller, the co-leader of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament.
“The words of Tajani insult the memory of Italians who suffered under Mussolini’s regime and he needs to retract his statements.”
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