On 23 January 2018, the new Berlusconi's party, Forza Italia, decided not to renew his candidature for the general election in March.[7] Razzi criticised this choice, declaring that was not decided by Berlusconi but by other FI's leading members who were envious of his popularity.[8]
Antonio Razzi became quite famous in Italy for his statements regarding North Korea. He often stated that the Supreme LeaderKim Jong-un is a moderate politician, whose only aim is to bring democracy in that country;[9] moreover he always compared North Korea to Switzerland.[10]
Senator Razzi denied the existence of concentration camps in North Korea, in fact he claimed that they are only huge tomato greenhouses.[11]
During an interview he added that Kim Jong-un and his generals are "wonderful people" who do not want to attack neither South Korea nor the United States and that their nuclear weapons had only a defensive purpose.[12]
Razzi also visited Damascus in 2017, where he met the Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad. He stated that Assad is not a dictator but a democratic leader and he had never killed Syrian people but only terrorists.[13] Razzi added that while they were talking about Berlusconi, Assad said that he was a great leader, and that along with Vladimir Putin and Muammar Gaddafi, they were changing the world in better.[14]
During a press conference in Baku, Razzi stated that "Azerbaijan demonstrated an impeccable level of preparation for the 2018 Azerbaijani presidential election, which can serve as example for many countries."[15] He noted that observers from Italy at the presidential election did not observe any violations, but, on the contrary, witnessed a professionally organized election. Razzi also said: "We received information from the Citizens’ Labor Rights Protection League, prepared jointly with the US organization AJF & Associates Inc., according to which Ilham Aliyev gained the majority of votes at the election, The election process was democratic and transparent. Fingerprint scanning is a very innovative system, and I have never encountered it.[16] I wish Azerbaijan further prosperity."[17]
