A rightist ally of former premier Silvio Berlusconi triggered a row on Tuesday by saying Italy's new family minister was a lesbian and therefore unsuited to her job.
Senator Maurizio Saia of the National Alliance (AN) made the comments about Minister Rosy Bindi during an appearance on Notizie Oggi, a morning TV news programme on Berlusconi's Mediaset network.
"I don't think it's a secret and I have nothing against lesbians, but it must be clarified that Rosy Bindi is a lesbian," Saia said.
He said it was "not correct on a political level" to give the family portfolio to "someone who knows nothing about the family".
The senator was immediately contested by other guests on the show and its presenter, Giuliana Lucca. Meanwhile, Bindi, who is unmarried, denied she was a lesbian and said the senator's comments were vulgar and offensive.
"I'm sorry for Senator Saia but even if I have decided against marriage for personal reasons, I happen to like men, those who are cultured, intelligent, who respect women and if possible are handsome. All qualities which Saia does not possess," said Bindi, who is a member of the centrist, Catholic-oriented Daisy party.
She threatened to sue the senator, stressing: "People's privacy must be respected and one cannot go round spreading lies."
"If I were a lesbian, I would have no problems in saying so," added the former health minister. Bindi said Saia's views betrayed "lingering discriminatory tendencies" in his party, which traces its roots back to Fascism. Fellow Daisy supporter Donato Mosella said that "these
disgusting comments reveal the true nature of the arrogant, Fascist Right".
He demanded an apology from AN chief and former foreign minister Gianfranco Fini.
Franco Grillini, a member of the Democratic Left party and a gay rights' activist, said that "we know Bindi isn't gay but even if she were, she'd have no problems saying so. That's not the case with the gay MPs in AN and the rest of the centre right who are forced to hide their sexuality and lead double lives".
Several members of the centre right also expressed indignation.
Marco Follini, a heavyweight with the centrist, Catholic UDC party, said that "the attack on Rosy Bindi is the perfect example of everything that the centre right should never do". It's not the first time that the centre right has found itself in hot water over gay rights.
Former European Union Policy Minister and UDC bigwig Rocco Buttiglione created an international furore in October 2004 by describing homosexuality as a "sin". Buttiglione, a stanch Catholic, was subsequently rejected as a candidate for the post of European justice, freedom and security commissioner. The then minister for Italians abroad, AN member and former Fascist Mirko Tremaglia, went on to fuel the row by commenting: "Poor Europe: the faggots are in the majority".
AN leader Fini himself once caused an uproar on gay issues by saying that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach in public schools.
