Italy's Deputy PM forced to apologise over claim ‘wearing longer skirts makes women better mothers’
The right-wing politician advised young men to marry "less flashy but more reliable" women.
Italy’s deputy prime minister has sparked backlash after telling women to wear longer skirts so they can be better mothers.
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Antonio Tajani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, has been forced to apologise over the controversial marks.
Speaking at a political event on Friday, he said that while it might be “nice to marry a glamorous girl”, they may have “gone through a string of boyfriends, dumped them, walked out, and has a tendency to cheat”.
He added: “My children are married.. but if I had to advise a young man which woman to marry, I would suggest a less flashy but more reliable, more serious woman, who will certainly be a good mother.”
Mr Tajani said that the ideal woman should be “ready to provide the necessary answers, always present."
He continued: “Perhaps less pretty, with a slightly longer skirt.
“But while with the attractive one you might get a few ‘cornettos’, with the other you are certainly sure of everlasting love. She will keep her promise to marry and ensure the stability of the home. She will be there.”
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The right-wing politician has been slammed by a string of critics, including political opponents as well as the Catholic Church.
Hitting back, centre left Italian politician Chiara Appendino posted a photo of herself sitting on a bench in a miniskirt.
She said: “Tajani, am I not a trustworthy woman? Not a good mother?
“In 2026 we shouldn't still be hearing a government minister explain that it's better to marry a less flashy woman with a longer skirt. Our reliability isn't measured in centimetres of fabric. Let's get out of the Middle Ages.”
“I apologise if people felt offended by what I said, but I never intended to offend women. I have never done so in my life, neither in my private nor in my public life.”
Matteo Renzi, an Italian senator, said: "Tajani's statements about today's girls give us a glimpse of nineteenth-century women. The Foreign Minister should address the burqas of Afghan women, not the miniskirts of Italian girls.”
Valeria Valente, from Italy’s Democratic Party, said: "He's a concentration of stereotypes about women and a vision of women as angels of the hearth, faithfully waiting for their husbands at home with the children, wearing long skirts. Tajani's statements are simply shameful, unworthy of a minister of the Italian Republic."
Speaking on behalf of the Catholic Churuch, head of the Italian Bishops Conference Mgr Giuseppe Baturi said: “Every word and every gaze directed at a woman must be filled with respect and admiration
“For us Christians, the very first place where the Word became flesh was a woman’s womb – and for those with faith, this leaves an indelible mark on how we view women.
“Respect…is especially necessary regarding women, given that they can be the object of superficial glances.”
Mr Tajani has since apologised following the backlash, using his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York to claim he “never intended to offend women”.
“I have never done so in my life, neither in my private nor in my public life,” he said.
The Forza Italia leader even went on to say that he is a staunch defender of women’s rights.
He added: "To give just one example—precisely in defense of women's rights—I appointed, and specifically chose to appoint, women as ambassadors to Iran and Afghanistan.
“I did this to send a very clear signal that women's rights cannot be trampled upon anywhere in the world; that is just one example—I could cite a hundred others.”