"I will not answer questions in this strange language"

04.03.2026

“Should I answer questions in this strange language?” With this statement, Trieste municipal councilor Everest Bertoli answered a question that the president of the Western Karst district council Pavel Vidoni asked him in Slovenian during a joint session of district councils.

The meeting took place yesterday in the Luttazzi hall in Warehouse 26, convened by finance councilor Bertoli to present the second supplementary budget of the municipality, and during it, disrespectful behavior towards representatives of the Slovenian national community in Trieste again occurred. Bertoli has already “showed himself” with similar statements in the past.

Vidoni asked the councilor for clarification and used his native language, as provided for by the protective law 38. The translator translated the question into Italian, to which Bertoli responded with a contemptuous response. The extremely unpleasant event was pointed out by representatives of various opposition parties, who left the Luttazzi Hall with Vidoni in protest at the councilor's disrespectful behavior.

Original news in Primorski dnevnik in Slovenian: https://www.primorski.eu/trzaska/na-vprasanja-v-tem-cudnem-jeziku-ne-bom-odgovarjal-CB2131073