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‘Sweating like a mafioso’: calls in Italy to bar Estonia’s ‘offensive’ Eurovision entry

Consumer group complains about song’s stereotypes of Italians – but other Italians say the lyrics are ‘no stresso’

The Eurovision song contest is several months away but the drama has already begun, with calls from Italy for Estonia’s catchy pick for the competition to be scrapped due to lyrics poking fun at Italian stereotypes of being coffee-drinking, spaghetti-eating mafiosi. “Indignation has been expressed by numerous citizens [over a song] whose lyrics contain stereotypes about Italy and Italians – the usual cliches of coffee and spaghetti, but above all the mafia and the ostentation of luxury, which conveys a message of a population tied to organised crime.” Gian Marco Centinaio, a senator with the far-right League, has produced a party flyer featuring a screenshot of Cash drinking coffee from a paper cup in the video for the song and the caption “whoever insults Italy must stay out of Eurovision”.

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