Dispute over rainbow flag: municipal council in South Tyrol outraged with Goebbels reference

In South Tyrol, a local politician of Italy’s right-wing government party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) triggered Joseph Goebbel’s outrage with a reference to the Nazi Propaganda Minister. City councilor Diego Salvadori from the provincial capital Bozen wrote on his Facebook page on the picture of a rainbow flag in Italian: “The flag does not follow the people, but the people must follow the flag. Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich.”

The rainbow flag shown, which is also a symbol of the queer community, is currently hanging in front of a technology park in Bolzano, which Salvadori does not like. He later extinguished his entry. According to a report by the online portal Salto, the South Tyrolean Vice-President Marco Galateo (also Fratelli) had previously given the post with a like.

Vice head of government apologizes with “typing errors”

There is now criticism across the party borders in the majority German -speaking region in northern Italy. Prime Minister Arno Kompatscher from the conservative SVP asked his vice to distance himself from the contribution. The Greens spoke of glorification of National Socialism. Shortly afterwards, Galateo apologized on behalf of his party. He explained that he himself provided the contribution with a Like sign with a “typing error”. Salvadori apologized for an “inappropriate quote”.

In South Tyrol, the South Tyrolean People’s Party (SVP), which has been ruling for decades, is a coalition together with the Fratelli. In Rome, Fratelli chairman Giorgia Meloni has been running an alliance of three rights and conservative parties since 2022. The “brothers of Italy” originate in the post -fascist movement.