Italy’s minister for universities and research, Anna Maria Bernini, clashed with medical students during a public event in Rome on Thursday.
The confrontation took place at Atreju, the annual political festival organised by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party. This year’s event is being held at Castel Sant’Angelo.
Bernini was speaking from the stage when a small group of students began heckling her. The protesters, from the UDU student union, criticised her reform of medical school admissions.
The reform introduced an open-entry “filter” semester, replacing the traditional entrance exam. Students then face a national merit ranking to continue their studies. The measure aimed to abolish the cap on medical school places.
However, the reform has triggered strong opposition. Students complain of alleged exam irregularities and a very low pass rate, which they say risks wasting an academic year.
As Bernini began her speech, medical students shouted that many young people were suffering severe stress. They said some had returned to therapy, while others had taken their own lives.
Bernini calls students “poor communists”
From the stage, Bernini responded sarcastically, inviting the audience to applaud the protesters. She then quoted a phrase associated with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, calling the students “poor communists”.
She went further, telling the protesters: “This shows your uselessness. You are useless.” The remarks drew loud applause from the Atreju audience.
Bernini accused the students of creating chaos and refusing dialogue. She said she worried when opposition parties echoed their protests. The minister later stepped off the stage to confront the students directly. She defended her record, citing €9.4 billion invested in universities and more than €800 million in scholarships.
Video of the exchange was shared online by Bernini’s Forza Italia party. The footage quickly sparked outrage among opposition politicians.
The centre-left Democratic Party accused the minister of insulting students instead of addressing a failed reform. Italia Viva called the comments unacceptable and urged Bernini to apologise. Left-wing parties went further, with some calling on the minister to resign over the incident.
