Bossi's Commemoration Turns into Brawl in Council (cross-border guide)
The commemoration for the founder of the Lega Umberto Bossi ended in a brawl with shouts and accusations between the majority and opposition.
Context
In brief
- Minute of silence for Umberto Bossi in Milan's city council.
- Deputy chair Roberta Osculati distances herself from the Lega founder's political culture but acknowledges his leadership.
- Democratic Party councillor Michele Albiani challenges the tribute and denounces normalised racism.
- Shouting from the centre-right benches and the session suspended for a few minutes.
Key facts
- What: commemoration of Umberto Bossi with a minute of silence in the chamber.
- Where: Milan city council.
- Who he was: founder of the Lega, who died the previous week at the age of 84; he had been a city councillor in Milan.
- Who spoke: Roberta Osculati, deputy chair; Alessandro Verri, Lega group leader on the council; Michele Albiani, Democratic Party.
- Outcome: the session was suspended for a few minutes, then resumed.
Milan's city council remembered Umberto Bossi with a minute of silence. The founder of the Lega, who died the previous week at the age of 84, had himself been a city councillor in Milan.
Deputy chair Roberta Osculati took the floor. While saying she belongs to a political culture far removed from Bossi's, in its manner, its tone and its ideas, she credited him with leadership qualities and with an ability to read the society of northern Italy between the late 1980s and the 1990s.
Alessandro Verri, the Lega group leader on the council, then spoke to remember his party's founder.
Operational details
The challenge in the chamber
The tribute was not shared by everyone. Democratic Party councillor Michele Albiani challenged the commemoration, describing Bossi as "the man who made hatred of those who are not from the North acceptable".
"Shame on you, you held a minute of silence for someone who normalised this racism", Albiani added, also recalling in his speech the phrase attributed to Bossi, "never with the fascists".
Shouting broke out from the centre-right benches. Alessandro Verri shouted "shame on you, be quiet" in an attempt to stop the Democratic Party councillor from speaking.
The tension made it impossible to continue: the session was suspended for a few minutes before resuming.
Key points
Two opposing readings of the same figure
The episode showed how divisive Umberto Bossi remains, even in the chamber that had once counted him among its own city councillors.
On one side, the position of Roberta Osculati, who claimed a clear distance from the Lega founder's political culture, in its manner, its tone and its ideas, while crediting him with leadership qualities and with an ability to read the society of northern Italy between the late 1980s and the 1990s.
On the other, the objection of Michele Albiani, for whom an institutional tribute was not acceptable because it honoured someone who, in his judgement, made hatred of those who are not from the North acceptable.
In between, Lega group leader Alessandro Verri's tribute to his party's founder, and the shouting that led to the brief suspension of proceedings.
Source: tio.ch
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who was commemorated in the Milan City Council?
- Umberto Bossi, founder of the League, died the week before at the age of 84. Bossi had been a city councillor in Milan.
- How was Umberto Bossi remembered in the courtroom?
- With a minute of silence observed by the City Council of Milan.
- What did Vice President Roberta Osculati say?
- He distanced himself from Bossi's political culture, in his ways, in his tones and in his ideas, however, recognizing his leadership skills and his ability to interpret Northern Italian society between the late 1980s and the 1990s.
- Why did the commemoration fall through the cracks?
- The councilor of the PD Michele Albiani disputed the tribute, pointing out in Bossi the one who cleared customs of hatred towards those who are not from the North and declaring: "Shame, you have made a minute of silence for those who cleared customs of this racism". From the center-right benches shouted and the leader of the League Alessandro Verri shouted "shame, shut up" to stop his intervention.
- How did the session end?
- The session was suspended for a few minutes and then resumed.