“Better a less attractive but loyal wife than…” — the statement that shook Italian politics

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani has sparked strong controversy in the neighboring country with his latest statement — or, as he called it, friendly advice for today’s young people who want to start a family.

“My children are married. But if I had to advise a young man on which woman to marry, I would suggest a less attractive but more reliable, more serious woman, who will surely be a good mother. Ready to give the necessary answers, always present. Perhaps less beautiful, with a slightly longer skirt. But while with the attractive one you might get a few ‘croissants,’ with the other you are certainly assured of eternal love. She will keep her promise to marry and to ensure the stability of the home. She will be there.”

That is the statement by Antonio Tajani, which initially went almost unnoticed — even though the deputy prime minister and Forza Italia leader had gone so far as to explain that a woman who is “likable, but might betray you,” while “a beautiful but perhaps less attractive woman is a person who guarantees the stability of the home, of the family.”

The footage spread rapidly online, drawing comments both for and against. The Italian deputy prime minister himself said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that he never intended to offend women.

“I apologize if people were offended by what I said, but I never intended to offend women. I have never done this in my life, neither in my private life nor in my public life.”

Italia Viva wrote on social media: “Tajani always manages to amaze us, offering pearls of wisdom. The deputy prime minister thinks it is better not to marry a beautiful girl. A 1950s-style slogan, worthy of the worst of Mediterranean patriarchy,” denounced Renzi’s supporters, stressing the inappropriateness of these words “in light of the political commitment against femicide.”

“Tajani’s statements about today’s girls give us an idea of nineteenth-century women. The foreign minister should deal with the issue of Afghan women’s burqas, not Italian girls’ miniskirts,” added Matteo Renzi.

The Democratic Party also harshly criticized the minister. Senator Valeria Valente said: “He is a concentration of stereotypes about women and a vision of women as angels of the hearth, who faithfully await their husbands at home with the children, dressed in long skirts. Tajani’s statements are simply shameful, unworthy of a minister of the Italian Republic.”

Responding to the recent controversy, Antonio Tajani also offered a personal example precisely in defense of women and girls.

“I appointed and chose to appoint two women ambassadors to Iran and Afghanistan, precisely to send a very clear signal that women’s rights cannot be violated anywhere in the world. That is one example; I could give 100 more,” added the deputy prime minister and foreign minister.