“It is sad that the leadership of the European Parliament, in its blindness, can no longer distinguish between the legitimate right to hold a different opinion and the actions of spiritually bankrupt individuals, adventurers and lunatics,” Fico added, before asking whether the Parliament would tolerate similar depictions of the French president or German chancellor.
The statue was removed on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the European Parliament said after publication. It was part of a two-day exhibition at the initiative of Danish left-wing MEP Per Clausen.
POLITICO was present at the unveiling, where visitors clamored for miniature replicas of the sculpture, which were distributed in several colors. The statue stands in a prominent spot at the entrance to Parliament’s Winston Churchill building, before the corridor linking MEPs’ and Commission officials’ offices with the plenary chamber.
Galschiøt said the work was intended to confront Trump’s policies and start a debate about how the U.S. president was “destroying the world’s only chance to counter the climate catastrophe.”
Clausen defended the installation in a statement. “If someone is so thin-skinned that they cannot tolerate this sculpture … then they have no place on the world stage,” he said.
“MEPs have the possibility to hold cultural events/ exhibitions in the European Parliament … These cultural events and exhibitions by Members shall be authorised in advance by the Quaestors who assess the compliance with the rules in place,” the European Parliament press service said in a statement to POLITICO.