Italian Senator has apologized for his racist remarks on a fellow black Cabinet minister following criticism from all quarters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Roberto Calderoli had sparked outrage after he compared the country's first black government minister to an orangutan.
The News24 reports that Calderoli had rejected calls for his resignation and clarified that he will send flowers to Kyenge to apologize.
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.
Prime minister, Enrico Letta, condemned the comments as being 'unacceptable and 'beyond every limit'.
The remark also provoked outrage from other politicians in the country, especially in Kyenge's centre-left Democratic Party.
Asked on Sunday to explain the slur, Calderoli insisted he had been joking, and did not want to cause offence and apologized for his remarks.
