President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani has caused indignation with a comment on the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini had also done "some positive things before the introduction of the racial laws and before the declaration of war" to the whole world, "said Tajani in an interview with Radio24.

Mussolini was in power from 1922 to 1943. Italy joined the Second World War in 1940 on the side of the National Socialists by Adolf Hitler.

"I'm not a fascist, I've never been a fascist, but to be honest, he has built roads, bridges, buildings, sports facilities," said Italian Tajani, a member of Forza Italia's conservative party, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. "When you make a historical judgment, you have to be objective."

The leader of the Social Democrats in the European Parliament, Udo Bullmann, demanded from Tajani "an immediate statement". "Incredible Tajani quotes about Mussolini: How can the President of the European Parliament deny the character of fascism?" Bullmann wrote on Twitter.

#Mussolini "also did positive things," says @EP_President in all seriousness. The #EP has always spoken out against dictatorship, violence & repression & condemned fascism. With this statement, #Tajani can not remain President of Parliament and has to resign!

- Tiemo Wölken (@woelken) March 14, 2019

Later, Tajani tweeted that his statements had been manipulated. "I am appalled by the manipulation of my comments on fascism, I have always been a staunch anti-fascist, I do not allow anyone to say otherwise, the fascist dictatorship, racial laws and victims are the darkest chapter in IT / EU history."

Already in February, Tajani, a member of the European People's Party (EPP), had caused trouble with remarks on "Italian Istria" and "Italian Dalmatia". Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic criticized Tajani "in the strongest terms". Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec warned against "historical revisionism".

Critics accuse Italy for a long time of lacking processing of fascism. For example, you can still buy Mussolini souvenirs throughout the country. And Berlusconi said on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2013 that Mussolini did a lot of things well.