Premier Giorgia Meloni and centre-left
opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein sparred on
Friday after the former said the Right defended workers better
than "the caviar Left" and the latter shot back that she didn't
eat caviar but couldn't stand castor oil, the substance Italy's
Fascists poured down opponents' throats to induce severe
diarrhea.
The exchange was sparked by Meloni's stating at a European
Political Community sumit in Budapest Thursday that she was
unable to take time off sick, while suffering from the flu, and
had to work because she didn't have any union rights - a
statement Schlein characterised as "mocking workers".
Meloni retorted Friday: "I'm sorry that even on this we can
create a controversy over something completely useless, I don't
know what is meant by debasing trade union rights, which this
government defends much better than the caviar left".
This prompted Schlein to reply: "I have never eaten caviar, but
I cannot stand workers being purged with castor oil either; so
we will continue to stand by them.
"Meloni should instead deal with the minimum wage that she has
denied to three and a half million workers who can no longer
cope and cannot make it to the end of the month even if they
work".
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