Swedish international home furnishings giant Ikea, a long-time supporter of LGBT equality, is coming under attack from the prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, via the newspaper he owns which is labeling Ikea’s new ad in Sicily “Swedish imperialism†and “provocative.†The ad (above) features two men standing, holding hands, with the headline, “Siamo aperti a tutte a famiglie.” Translation: We are open to all families.
The seventy-four year-old Berlusconi, a billionaire who may celebrate his third anniversary in office in May, heads Italy’s “The People of Freedom” political party. He has said repeatedly his government will not allow same-sex marriage and will not allow same-sex couples to adopt children.
Berlusconi “has an extensive record of criminal allegations, including mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges. Berlusconi has been tried in Italian courts in several cases. In three of these cases accusations were dropped by the judiciary because of laws passed by Berlusconi’s parliamentary majority shortening the time limit for prosecution of various offences and making false accounting illegal only if there is a specific damaged party reporting the fact to the authorities.”
Prime minister Berlusconi, currently facing charges in an under-age prostitution scandal, is no stranger to controversies involving sex, finances, and morality.
Once again, it’s “the gays” who are out to destroy the family.