Organized by the Süd-Tiroler Freiheit (South Tyrol Freedom), the Tyrolese Nationalist Party, a member of the Tyrolese party handed over a statue portraying the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to Renzo Caramaschi, the Italian speaking mayor of Bozen, as a protest against a decision made by the mayor and his aides. The Italian-minded politicians resolved to maintain the Italian language place names imposed by Mussolini, instead of restoring them to the original German names.
The video clip below depicts the dismissive attitude shown by the mayor, uttering words like “insolents” and “clowns” while he breaks the statute the nationalist activists try to give away.
South Tyrol is a German-speaking land wedge under Italian control. The fascist dictator Benito Mussolini attempted to Italianize the territory by colonizing it. It enjoys an autonomous government, where the Tyrolese nationalist parties hold a majority.