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The President of Italy responded to Boris Johnson after he suggested that the UK had higher rates of coronavirus infection because it was a “more freedom-loving country”.
This week in parliament the prime minister was asked why Germany and Italy seemed to have a lower COVID-19 rates than Great Britain.
Johnson refuted the claim that the relative success of test-and-trace schemes from different countries was a factor.
And the prime minister added that there was “an important difference between our country and many other countries in the world: our country is a freedom-loving country.”
The prime minister had told parliamentarians: ‘Our country is a freedom-loving country’
“If we look at the history of this country over the last 300 years, practically all the advances, from freedom of expression to democracy, come from this country,” he continued.
“It is very difficult to ask the British population in a uniform way to obey the guidelines as necessary.”
When asked about Johnson’s comments, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Thursday: “We Italians also love freedom, but we also care about seriousness.”
The Reuters news agency reported that Mattarella was asked about Johnson during a private conversation, but his words were quickly reported in local media and his office confirmed the comments.
According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the UK has been the hardest hit country in Europe by COVID-19 in terms of deaths, ahead of Italy, France and then Spain.
Germany has suffered less than a quarter of the number of deaths that the United Kingdom has, according to the count.
It is not the first time that Johnson’s comments have elicited a response from an Italian politician.
In 2016, Johnson, then foreign secretary, was accused of “insulting” the country’s government by stating that Italy should support a generous post-Brexit trade deal to prevent a decline in its prosecco exports.
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The prime minister’s fiancee Carrie Symonds was photographed this week on Lake Como in northern Italy, and the Daily Mail website reported that she had spent a few days with the couple’s baby, WIlfred, and his friends.
Downing Street recently condemned “completely false” claims that Johnson traveled through Perugia airport on a secret trip this month.
And the airport president said Monday that there had been a “mistake” in an earlier statement and that Johnson did not land there recently.
