European Politicians Say the Darndest Racial Slurs

Blacks, Muslims and migrants are apparently fair game.

They Said What? - For the umpteenth time, Italy’s first Black minister, Cecile Kyenge, was targeted for her race. Last Friday, bananas were thrown at her during a party rally. Prior to this derogatory incident, Kyenge’s own fellow Italian lawmakers hurled racial slurs at her, likening her to an orangutan and a housemaid and calling for her to be raped. Keep reading to learn which European politicians have publicly voiced negative perceptions of migrants, and ethnic, religious and racial minorities. –Patrice Peck(Photos from left: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images, Robin Utrecht-Pool/Getty Images, Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

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They Said What? - For the umpteenth time, Italy’s first Black minister, Cecile Kyenge, was targeted for her race. Last Friday, bananas were thrown at her during a party rally. Prior to this derogatory incident, Kyenge’s own fellow Italian lawmakers hurled racial slurs at her, likening her to an orangutan and a housemaid and calling for her to be raped. Keep reading to learn which European politicians have publicly voiced negative perceptions of migrants, and ethnic, religious and racial minorities. –Patrice Peck(Photos from left: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images, Robin Utrecht-Pool/Getty Images, Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Roberto Calderoli - Recently spotlighted for comparing Cecile Kyenge, Italy’s first Black minister, to an orangutan last month, Italian politician and member of the anti-immigration Northern League party Roberto Calderoli has found himself at the center of several public controversies. He also attributed Italy’s victory over France in the 2006 World Cup to the French team’s recruitment of “Negroes, Muslims and communists.”(Photo: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

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Roberto Calderoli - Recently spotlighted for comparing Cecile Kyenge, Italy’s first Black minister, to an orangutan last month, Italian politician and member of the anti-immigration Northern League party Roberto Calderoli has found himself at the center of several public controversies. He also attributed Italy’s victory over France in the 2006 World Cup to the French team’s recruitment of “Negroes, Muslims and communists.”(Photo: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo)

Mario Borghezio - Also from the Northern League party, Parliament member Mario Borghezio has made racist remarks about Kyenge. “She seems like a great housekeeper,” he said about the Congolese-Italian politician last May. “But not a government minister.” Borghezio has also been convicted of violence against an immigrant Moroccan minor in 1993 and setting fire to the pallets of sleeping migrants in 2005.(Photo: Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

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Mario Borghezio - Also from the Northern League party, Parliament member Mario Borghezio has made racist remarks about Kyenge. “She seems like a great housekeeper,” he said about the Congolese-Italian politician last May. “But not a government minister.” Borghezio has also been convicted of violence against an immigrant Moroccan minor in 1993 and setting fire to the pallets of sleeping migrants in 2005.(Photo: Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Dolores Valandro - “Why does no one rape her, so she can understand what the victims of atrocious crime feel?” Such is the message that former Northern League party member and Italian politician Dolores Valandro posted on her public Facebook last month, regarding Kyenge and a recent attempted rape involving an immigrant. Despite apologizing for her “joke,” the Northern League expelled Valandro. She resigned from office shortly after.(Photo: Facebook via Dolores Valandro)

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Dolores Valandro - “Why does no one rape her, so she can understand what the victims of atrocious crime feel?” Such is the message that former Northern League party member and Italian politician Dolores Valandro posted on her public Facebook last month, regarding Kyenge and a recent attempted rape involving an immigrant. Despite apologizing for her “joke,” the Northern League expelled Valandro. She resigned from office shortly after.(Photo: Facebook via Dolores Valandro)

Geert Wilders - Geert Wilders is a man of many incendiary words. The controversial Dutch politician was charged with, and later cleared of, inciting hatred against Muslims through his campaign against Islam in public life. For the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the 49-year-old traveled to New York City where he delivered a speech condemning plans to build a nearby Islamic center. Wilders has also called for a ban against the Koran, which he compared to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.(Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

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Geert Wilders - Geert Wilders is a man of many incendiary words. The controversial Dutch politician was charged with, and later cleared of, inciting hatred against Muslims through his campaign against Islam in public life. For the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the 49-year-old traveled to New York City where he delivered a speech condemning plans to build a nearby Islamic center. Wilders has also called for a ban against the Koran, which he compared to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.(Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

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Jean-Marie Le Pen - An advocate of unyielding immigration restrictions (particularly for North Africans) long-serving French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted of racism or anti-semitism at least six times, reported AP. He also complained that there were too many “players of color” on the 1996 French World Cup squad and that they do not reflect France’s identity.(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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Jean-Marie Le Pen - An advocate of unyielding immigration restrictions (particularly for North Africans) long-serving French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen has been convicted of racism or anti-semitism at least six times, reported AP. He also complained that there were too many “players of color” on the 1996 French World Cup squad and that they do not reflect France’s identity.(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Marine Le Pen - In an inflammatory case of “like father, like daughter,” Marine Le Pen, the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, was recently stripped of her European Parliament immunity and charged with racism over remarks she made comparing Muslim street praying to the Nazi occupation of France. An influential global politician, Pen is the president of the Front National, the third-largest political party in France.(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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Marine Le Pen - In an inflammatory case of “like father, like daughter,” Marine Le Pen, the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, was recently stripped of her European Parliament immunity and charged with racism over remarks she made comparing Muslim street praying to the Nazi occupation of France. An influential global politician, Pen is the president of the Front National, the third-largest political party in France.(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Nick Griffin - Known for making remarks like, “There’s no such thing as a Black Welshman,” U.K. politician and chairman of the British National Party Nick Griffin told BBC that “they need to sink several of those boats,” regarding boats carrying undocumented immigrants to Europe. He then clarified, saying, "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea. I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya.”(Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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Nick Griffin - Known for making remarks like, “There’s no such thing as a Black Welshman,” U.K. politician and chairman of the British National Party Nick Griffin told BBC that “they need to sink several of those boats,” regarding boats carrying undocumented immigrants to Europe. He then clarified, saying, "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea. I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya.”(Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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Juergen Gansel - When President Barack Obama was elected in 2008, German politician Juergen Gansel released a statement titled, “Africa conquers the White House.” A member of the extreme-right National Democratic Party, Gansel insisted that Obama intended to destroy America’s “white identity.”(Photo: NORBERT MILLAUER/AFP/Getty Images)

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Nikolaos Michaloliakos - Greek Politician Nikolaos Michaloliakos, the leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, likened recent NBA draft pick Giannis Antetokounmpo, 18,  to a “chimpanzee” during a television interview earlier this month. Greece’s basketball confederation openly denounced the disparaging comments, calling them “unacceptable and racist.”(Photo: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)