Italian lawmakers have voted not to pursue charges of inciting racism against a rightwing politician who once compared a black politician to an orangutan, saying the slur was within his rights as an elected official.
Cécile Kyenge, an Italian member of the European parliament who was born in Congo, said after the ruling from the senate that she would take her case against Northern League senator Roberto Calderoli to the European court of justice.
The lawmakers cited article 68 of the Italian constitution, which states that members of parliament “cannot be held accountable for the opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of their function”.
Kyenge, an eye surgeon, was serving as Italy’s integration minister in 2013 when Calderoli, a former official in the government of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said at a political rally that she would be better off working “in her country”.
“I love animals, bears and wolves, as is known, but when I see the pictures of Kyenge I cannot but think of the features of an orangutan, even if I’m not saying she is one,” he said.
No, non lascio il mio partito, ma chiedo al PD una seria riflessione. #IoVadoAvanti
— Cécile Kyenge (@ckyenge) September 17, 2015
Kyenge on Thursday expressed dismay at the decision, saying it sent exactly the wrong message at a time of heightened racial tensions in Europe.
“The senate’s decision throws a heavy shadow on the fight against racism, just when populism and xenophobia are growing because of the refugee crisis,” Kyenge said.
While she initially suggested her future in the Democratic party (PD) was uncertain after members of her own left-of-centre party voted against pursuing a racial incitement charge, Kyenge said on Twitter that she would remain with the PD, but that some “serious reflection” was required.
She also said her decision to pursue the issue was not personal – she said she had accepted Calderoli’s apology – but a question of principle.
The move by the Italian senate to spare Calderoli, who has made other racist remarks in the past, was the subject of cloak-and-dagger political speculation.
#riformaSenato Il PD salva Calderoli (Lega) dal processo penale e lui ritira i suoi 500mila emendamenti. Il mercato delle vacche continua.
— Riccardo Nuti (@Riccardo_Nuti) September 16, 2015
One member of the populist Five Star Movement, Riccardo Nuti, suggested that members of the PD had made a backroom deal with the Northern League to save Calderoli in exchange for his removal of proposed amendments to a sweeping constitutional reform law that is under debate.
On Twitter, Nuti wrote: “The PD saves Calderoli from a trial and he removes his 500,000 amendments. The horse trading continues.”
