A brawl erupted in the Italian parliament over the far-right government's plans to grant regions more autonomy. The fight took place on Wednesday evening after Five Star Movement (MS5) deputy Leonardo Donno attempted to tie an Italian flag around the neck of regional affairs minister Roberto Calderoli of the pro-autonomy Northern League.
The video of the incident that occurred ahead of the G7 Summit went viral on social media. The attempt made by Donno was intended to denounce plans to grant more autonomy from Rome to those regions that wanted it.
In the viral video, Calderoli's fellow League deputies were seen leaving their benches in response to Donno’s actions and coming together to mob him, and as a consequence, the debate descended into a free-for-all involving at least 20 men.
During the scuffle inside the Parliament, Donno sustained injuries and had to be evacuated in a wheelchair before being sent to the hospital, as reported by news agency AFP.
Lawmakers from the League and the Brothers of Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, slammed Donno following the incident and accused him of provoking it and even faking his injuries, as reported by AFP.
The M5S denounced a "serious and shameful attack" and called for immediate measures. "Violence comes from the benches of the Meloni majority... Shame," its leader, Giuseppe Conte, wrote on social media network X.
Speaking to Sky TG24, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani acknowledged that lawmakers should hold themselves to a higher standard. He said that politicians "have to set a completely different example.
"The chamber is not a boxing ring... it's not fisticuffs that solve political problems," he said, as quoted by AFP. According to critics, the autonomy proposal will result in public services being cut back in the poorest regions. In 2021, deputies from the Brothers of Italy mobbed the centre of the chamber to interrupt a debate on the Covid-19 health pass.