Over half of Italians say racist acts ‘justifiable’: Poll

A new survey reveals that more than half of Italians consider racist acts as “justifiable”, a finding that comes following a recent string of racist incidents across the country.

Italian polling firm SWG, which questioned a sample of 1,500 people to conduct the survey, found that 45% of respondents said racist acts are acceptable depending on the situation, while a further 10% said that such acts were always justifiable.

The remaining 45% said racist acts of any kind were completely unacceptable.

“What this means is that there has been a relaxation in attitudes towards racism – not necessarily that people have become racist, more that they are becoming more accepting of racist acts and do not consider them so scandalous,” Enzo Risso, scientific director at SWG said on Tuesday.

“We can say anything about anyone and are becoming more used to it,” said Risso. “This is a bad sign from a civic point of view. It’s not only in Italy … what we’re seeing in other countries too is a sort of adaptation towards the worst.”

SWG conducted the same survey each year and for the first time in a decade the majority of the respondents did not condemn outright racism and racist acts.

The results of the survey come on the heels of recent instances of racism in Italy.

Racist incidents have occurred in Italian stadiums in recent months, where players such as Kalidou Koulibaly and Mario Balotelli have been abused due to their skin color.

PressTV-'Italy plagued with racism epidemic'

The head of European Football Anti-Discrimination Body says Italy is suffering from an "epidemic of racism inside its stadiums."

In October, central Rome's Piazza San Giovanni, the historical square where left-leaning parties have traditionally held their rallies, was invaded by about 100,000 right-wing supporters from across Italy.

The initiative had been called by the leader of the far-right League Party Matteo Salvini in the aftermath of the formation of a center-left government on August 29.

Salvini hopes a right-wing alliance could lead him to victory in key upcoming regional elections in Umbria, Calabria and Emilia Romagna.

The League and ultra-nationalist Brothers of Italy continuously campaign on an “Italians first” platform, never publicly condemn racist acts and sue people who accuse them of being racist for defamation.

Last year, Salvini filed a case against black former senator Cécile Kyenge, who has suffered several racist attacks from League politicians.

The rise of nationalism and far-right political parties across European member-states is causing a crisis, with refugees and asylum seekers increasingly becoming vulnerable to racist abuse and attacks. 

Refugees and immigrants have become modern-day scapegoats for demagogues, especially in economically struggling countries, who are turning a blind eye to the real causes of the crisis – rising inequalities.

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