Schlein dressed as Befana on Facebook, there is a storm over the mayor of Trieste

Elly Schlein dressed as Befanacomplete with sorghum broom and handkerchief on his head. This is the post that the mayor of Trieste, Roberto Dipiazza, at the head of a centre-right coalition, he publishes on Facebook with a caption that makes the message even more explicit: “Happy birthday, Befana”.

A post that triggers the reaction of the Democrats in defense of the secretary: “The gesture made by the mayor of Trieste Dipiazza is truly serious”, say the leaders of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies in a joint note. Francesco Boccia and Chiara Bragaand the head of delegation in Brussels, Nicola Zingaretti. “A mayor, who represents the institutions, on a day like this, with the bodies of the boys who died in Crans Montana having just arrived in Italy, finds nothing better than to insult and offend the secretary of the Democratic Party”.

Pd exponents remember that the mayor is “no stranger to sexist and offensive behavior towards women and that with this gesture, made with the belief of being nice, shows all the narrow-mindedness, vulgarity and misery of a right-wing culture in which the denigration of the political opponent is habitual. We hope that the mayor of Trieste will apologize to the PD community and his secretary as soon as possible.”

Not only that: Boccia, Braga and Zingaretti formally ask that all parties that support him dissociate themselves from Dipiazza, “even at a national level, starting with Giorgia Meloni“. The Democratic Party of Friuli Venezia Giulia also rises up with an official note in which it is underlined that “it is not satire or joking spirit, just a lack of respect. A sexist, vulgar and unworthy gesture of those who hold a public office, who use body shaming as a political weapon. Those who should represent all citizens choose the Christmas holidays to insult. It doesn’t make anyone laugh and reveals narrow-mindedness. Unfortunately It’s not yet another slip up by a Dipiazza at the end of his political parable, but it is the prevailing culture of the right that governs us at all levels. We’ll see who dissociates”, concludes the regional secretary of the Pd Fvg Caterina Conti.