An Italian politician has compared the country's first black minister, Cecile Kyenge, to a prostitute because of her frequent visits to the black-dominated prostitute area.
Cristiano Za Garibaldi, the rightwing deputy mayor of Diano Marina in Liguria, suggested on his Facebook page that Kyenge frequented an area used by prostitutes, many of whom were black, the Guardian reports.
Cecile Kyenge, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but has Italian citizenship, has faced repeated racial slurs since being appointed minister for integration in April.
Earlier, a former government minister with the Northern League party, Roberto Calderoli, had compared her to an orangutan in July.
A northern Italian winemaker, Fulvio Bressan, who allegedly called Kyenge a 'dirty black monkey' on his Facebook page last week, prompted a debate in the wine world about boycotting his wines.
Another local councillor for the Northern League called for Kyenge to be raped earlier in June, in order to make her understand the seriousness of the attempted rape of two women in Genoa by a Somali.
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Bananas were thrown at Kyenge during a speech in July.
Za Garibaldi, meanwhile, repented on Sunday, and said that his comments were in bad taste and offensive.
He clarified that the reason for making such offensive comments was his stress from having to pay high Italian taxes, the report added.
Kyenge reacted that this was the umpteenth episode in a constant attack that was not only targeted at me, but anyone in this country who dares to think differently.
Kyenge has, since she got appointed, pushed for a law granting Italian citizenship to children born in Italy to immigrants.
Recently, she suggested second homes in Italy could be rented out to homeless people.
