Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dismissed calls on Tuesday to resign over his involvement with an underage Moroccan runaway — and even created a new uproar by claiming it was better to love beautiful girls than gays.
His comments sparked outrage from gay rights groups and fueled new calls for him to step down.
Opposition politicians have charged that Berlusconi abused his office by calling Milan police in May when the then-17-year-old runaway nicknamed Ruby was detained for alleged theft. Newspapers have reported that Berlusconi told police that a local party official would take custody of the girl, who had visited Berlusconi’s Milan villa on at least one occasion.
Even center-right commentators in Berlusconi’s family-owned newspapers have criticized him for intervening in a possible criminal case. Berlusconi’s now-estranged ally, Gianfranco Fini, said his antics had embarrassed the country.
However, Berlusconi again defended his lifestyle and fondness for young women, telling a trade fair in Milan on Tuesday it was “better to be passionate about a beautiful girl than a gay.”
Gay rights group Arcigay demanded an apology for causing offense to both women and gays. Later, about two dozen people holding signs with a photo of Berlusconi and denouncing homophobia demonstrated across the street from the prime minister’s office.
The prime minister’s comments “represent a dangerous incitement to prejudice and helps legitimize discrimination, injustice and suffering,” Arcigay president Paolo Pantane wrote in a letter to Italian Minister for Equal Opportunity Mara Carfagna.
In response, Carfagna defended Berlusconi’s record on anti-discrimination measures and said he had just been joking.
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