Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's response to the union leader who described her as “Trump's courtesan”
Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump, on October 14, at the peace summit in Egypt. Credit: Michael Kappeler / DPA / Profimedia
Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, criticized the head of Italy's largest trade union after he described her as US President Donald Trump's “courtesan”, reports The Guardian.
Maurizio Landini, the leader of the CGIL, which organized several pro-Palestinian protests ahead of the Gaza deal, made the remarks on television on Tuesday, a day after world leaders, including Meloni, met in Egypt for a Middle East peace summit.
Landini accused Meloni of “not lifting a finger” to bring peace to Gaza, limiting herself to “playing Trump's courtesan.” “Fortunately, Italian citizens took to the streets to defend the dignity and honor of this country,” said the trade unionist.
In a post on social media, Italy's prime minister said Lanzini was plagued by “a growing resentment (which I can understand)” and shared a definition of the word “courtesan”.
“I think everyone knows the most common meaning attributed to this word, but for those who may not, I'm posting the first definition I found with a quick internet search,” Meloni said, posting a screenshot that read: “Woman of easy virtue, heterosexual; euphemism, prostitute.”
Meloni criticized his left-wing opponents, saying that for decades they “taught us lessons about respecting women”, only to then criticize a woman by “calling her a prostitute”.
In response to the post, Landini claimed that there were no “sexist insults” directed at Meloni and that he used the term to suggest that the current Italian prime minister is “Trump's lackey”.
“In a 10-minute interview, which anyone can easily review, to avoid any misunderstanding or exploitation of the term used, I immediately clarified what I wanted to say – that Meloni was after Trump, he was in Trump's court, he was Trump's lackey,” the union leader also declared.
