DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Xenophobia is on the rise in Italy. Protestors are throwing stones and molotov cocktails, a group of barracks for Roma has been torched in Naples and a Roma woman has been accused of trying to rob an Italian woman's baby. But the aggressive mood is directed not only at Roma: Romanians and Africans are in danger, as well. The climate has worsened since the elections. The Berlusconi government wants to deport criminal foreigners. In Rome, the conservative Gianni Alemanno was elected mayor on his promise to drive the mostly illegal camps from the city. And so arsonists and stone-throwers think they can count on tacit approval from the government.